This is the last time
by baddie-boop
Summary: Eighteen year old Dipper and Mabel still visit Gravity Falls every summer - where they carry out their romance. But what will happen when the twins deal with hiding their affair, heart break, and Bill Cypher! PINECEST WARNING! Dipper x Mabel. (Sort of) Dipper x Bill. Please read, review, and follow! :)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _Not gonna lie, first chapter is far more smut and angst and stuff than actual story. But I promise it'll speed up next chapter! :)_

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"Oh, but your love is such a swamp/You don't think before you jump/And I said I wouldn't get sucked in/ **This is the last time** " - "This is the Last Time" by the National

* * *

Under the flickering bathroom light, Dipper's chapped lips kissed Mabel's - tiredly, desperately. His hands, now far larger and rougher with his aging, fell into her hips and pushed her, slightly, to the wall. She felt her back press into the framed clown painting her Grunkle Stan stole so long ago, as her own hands, covered in mutli colored band-aids, ran through her brother's brown, curly hair. As their kisses became more heated, his arms wrapped around her tightly, and his stubble began to irritate her chin. But Mabel didn't care. She just needed him. Her hands dropped and began to lift at the edge Dipper's old, worn out t-shirt. But, then, she felt his hands, leaving her long strands, grab her friendship bracelet covered wrists. With his forehead pressed against Mabel's, Dipper had a clear view to look into her brown eyes - the exact color as his - and he could see her, as if in surrender, finally look into his.

"You know we can't keep on doing this." He murmured, his voice still gravelly with sleep, as there passionate frenching had, abruptly, began when both siblings went to the restroom in the middle of the night - too tired to even notice the other heading for the same room.

"Dipper, please. Please. Just one more time."

"That's what we said the last time. And the time before that. And the time before that one."

"And that's what we'll say the next time." Mabel retorted, lifting her lips to grab Dipper's once more, but he moved his head, slightly, to avoid her addictive kiss.

"No. We're not doing this."

The resoluteness in Dipper's voice caused Mabel to, finally, give up, and, defeated, she buried her head in the crook of his neck. Her mouth contorted as she tried to hold back her tears, and she breathed in deeply, trying to remember Dipper's scent: rainwater, fresh air, and moist soil. When Dipper gently lifted Mabel away, he found the tears that she had attempted to keep in were now rolling down her cheeks. His eyes, once exhausted and cold, softened with sympathy. He placed a hand under Mabel's chin, while the other wiped away the tears and, as a finale signature, brushed away her curved bangs.

"It's going to be okay. Especially now that we're at Grunkle Stan's. Here, we can get used to being, you know, split up, in a better...environment. And we have to get used to it, Mabel."

"But what if I can't? What if I never get used to it, and I feel heartache for the rest of my life?"

"Just..try-try and think of how bad it was when we were together. About how annoying it was to keep so many secrets. About the constant stress of being caught. About how we _were_ caught. Do you remember that? When Chelsea found us behind the gym, and now our reputation depends on this stranger? It's too difficult, Mabel. For us to be together, we'd have to give up so many other wonderful things." Dipper said, his voice breaking as he kissed away Mabel's tears. His own eyes were starting to water, as well, which Mabel noticed when his shoulder's shuddered slightly.

"You know, I found someone." He continued.

"What!?" Mabel shrieked, slamming herself into the wall behind her, so as to distance herself as much as possible from her brother.

"Yeah, I did. Her name's Bailey. Bailey Chiffre." Dipper sounded defeated as he admitted this, his head hanging low.

"The redhead Soos hired!?"

"Yeah. I guess I have a thing for redheads." He joked, trying to lighten the mood - but only being met by Mabel's betrayed glare. He tried to explain, "Look, I know it hurts. But, I think, the biggest distraction to all this is by...dating other people. And she's nice. Even you liked her."

"No. I mean, not really. I liked the color of her hair, but not necessarily _her_."

"Well, you would. I know you would. I'm not saying you two should be friends, but you would like her. She's really loud, and athletic, and...honest."

"She sounds like a bitch."

Dipper rolled his eyes. Despite Mabel's many perfections, she was, undeniably, childish. The main reason their tryst had gone on for so long was because Mabel was too immature to actually think it all through. She just thought about the "now", and never really considered how having an affair with your own fucking brother would actually cause some serious problems in the future. Dipper gave his red eyed, pouting sister, a long, tired stare, as if he were expecting reality to hit her. And when it did, her own expression melted away, and more tears welled up in her eyes. She pushed her lips onto Dipper's, and, this time, Dipper had no intention of stopping her.

Mabel, by pushing on Dipper's shoulder, flipped the two so that Dipper was now pressed against the wall. While his hands roamed down her back, her long, hungry kisses became far more quick and feverish, trailing from his lips, down his jaw, and latching onto his neck - only briefly breaking to pull of his shirt. Abruptly, she gave Dipper one last, desperate hug before dropping to her knees, so that she was now level with his waist. Her heart fluttered slightly when she spotted his dark happy trail, which drifted past the waistband of his basketball shorts, and her lips seemed to rest around that area, causing Dipper's an excitement to form in his gut. But realization hit him, and his eyes fluttered open before, cupping Mabel's face in his hands, he stopped her.

"You don't have to do this. I don't...expect you to do anything you don't like or-"

"I want to." She said, clearly and steadily. Her eyes were looking straight into his, with complete surety.

As if giving permission, Dipper leaned back against the wall, letting out a shaky, breath, and focusing on the locked bathroom door ahead of him. He felt the hot exhale of Mabel's breath as she pulled down on his shorts, letting them drop to his ankles. A tingle ran through him when she grasped his member and put her lips around it, entering him into a sweltering hot heat. His breath hitched as she bobbed up and down, and small, short exhales escaped his parted lips. Even with his eyes closed, Dipper's hands found their way to Mabel's long strands, and they weaved through the smooth hair. He craned his head backwards as he felt a sweet sensation began to rise through him, and Mabel could her a slew of whispered cuss words escape her brother's lips, which slowly got louder as she took him deeper into her mouth, until, with a breathy yell, he exclaimed "Fuck!" While curling inwards. Mabel wiped away whatever fluids had passed her lips, before looking up into her brother's eyes.

He was arched over her, slightly, with his still closed out of ecstasy. His face was red, from blushing, and had a sheen of sweat. With how his thick hair fell around him, the image if a halo formed, and Mabel thought about how angelic her brother could seem. Even when they were doing some of the most sinful things out there. Dipper's eyes slowly opened to find his sister looking back at him with an expression of calm, loving wonderment. His heart seemed to well up with a painful, drowning urge to love, and he abruptly kneeled down to press a kiss into her lips.

This was the last kiss, and the most passionate. Now, both were crying, and their salty tears mixed in with the frenzy, as they both clawed at and kissed and hugged and loved each other. Their seemingly chaotic kissing ended when they just had their arms wrapped around the other, causing a deafening silence to fill the room, and all the two could think about the warmth and the heartbeat of their twin. Slowly, they parted, stood up with intertwined hands, and left the room.

They walked down the cold, dark hallway - numbly, deafly - before entering their bedroom. When they headed off to their two separate beds, the twin's hands, trying to hold onto each other for as long as possible, split apart, finally. The two crawled into bed, facing the wall as they pretended to fall into an unattainable sleep, not daring to even roll over and see the other.

This was it.

This was the last time.


	2. Chapter 2

So here's chapter 2! Thank you to all those who recently followed me, I really appreciate it! This chapter contains NSFW content - but not between Dipper and Mabel, actually (well, not really). But I hope you enjoy! Please review!

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" _I prayed the lord my soul to take/I thought about you all day, how we have the same face/I fell asleep so confused, parts of me remind me of you/How could I ever wish away?" (Sky Ferreira)_

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Mabel rested, belly down, on her bed with various scraps of magazines, glue sticks, and colorful washi tape strewn around her. She was snipping away at a photo of an Andy Warhol artwork she had found in one of her Grunkle's many forgotten magazines. Finishing, she cut the images edges until they were smooth, and taped them to the wall, where it laid amongst various other cut out pictures of bright dresses, baby animals, her friends, and, of course, Waddles. As if on cue, her miniature pig appeared, letting out small, squeaky grunts, and pushed his pink head under her band-aid covered fingers. Mabel released a small smile, opening her lap for her beloved pet, who, lately, was the only comfort to Mabel.

Two days had passed since Mabel's finale parting with Dipper. And within those two days, an infinities worth of awkward, cringe-inducing moments had managed to fit themselves in. Mabel had never gone this long without talking to her brother, not even when they went away to sleepaway camp - where she would have to sneak phone calls during the middle of the night. But, as much as she would love to exchange horrible puns or have odd food races with her brother, she found whenever one of them did try to start a conversation, the two would only exchange stunted small talk. The tension was so thick even Grunkle Stan, who was usually oblivious to everything, had picked up on it, and, rather harshly, grunted "Good God, me and my reflection have better chemistry than you to!" Before sulking off to the living room.

Now, Mabel found herself, despite being annoyed by his previous harshness, spending more and more time with Grunkle Stan. When she would join him on his attempts to haggle for various odd antiques at a pawn shop, he would complain about her presence - particularly when she corrected her Grunkle Stan for saying he only had $48 when, in reality, he had $50. After, when they stopped at Greasy's Diner, he continued to inquire Mabel as to why she was avoiding Dipper.

"What's the issue here, Mabs? Why aren't you hanging with your idiotic brother? Sure, he's a wimp, and a nerd, and a bit of a weirdo - but at least you two aren't cramping my style when you're off 'frolicking' in the woods and what not!"

" _Cramping_ your style? Or... _amping_ your style?" Mabel asked, raising an eyebrow and flashing a toothy grin.

"Uh, yeah, I don't think so. But, seriously, what's the dealio?"

"Nothing. I think...I think…" Mabel looked outside the window briefly. In between the trees, she could see various, ominous figures sprinting through the shadows, and she wondered if Dipper would ever discover those creatures - as he always hoped to. But then she brought her mind back to reality, and finished her sentence. "I think we're just drifting apart."

Grunkle Stan paused midway in his eating of pancakes, his half-lidded eyes now springing open. He put his fork down and clasped his hands before looking up, now with a far more serious expression.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I guess these things just happen, ya know. I mean, he and I can't be kids forever. Eventually we have to stop playing 'explorer' and what not."

Mabel could feel her Grunkle Stan's worried stare on her, and she had to look at her waffles, too afraid that if she did give him eye contact, he would able to see the ache and jealousy within her.

"You know, Mabel, that one of my biggest regrets was ruining my relationship with Ford. The bond between siblings - twins, in particular - is one that can't ever be replaced."

"I **know**. But it's-it's far more...weirder than with what happened with you guys. Like, Dipper and I didn't have some big fight and just...split. It's been a gradual thing. We just don't have anything...in common any more."

"You're related! That should be enough to keep you together!"  
"Relation isn't exactly a lengthy topic to talk about. Like, it would just be 'you're my brother'. And he would be 'And you're my sister'. And that would be it. I mean, what is that? That was, like, two seconds. No. No, I don't think relation is much of a-a discussion point."

Mabel, slightly cross now, did finally look up, and, from behind her thick bangs, could see the fearful look in Grunkle Stan's eyes. It was very rare to see such an emotion in him. Even when they were fighting Bill Cipher, so long ago, that look didn't really appear - not until Dipper and Mabel's lives were threatened.

Mabel let out a defeated sigh, and said "Come on. Let's just go home."

* * *

Fallen, dried pine needles crunched under Dipper's sneakers as he, Grunkle Ford, and Bailey, whose hand was clasped in his, trudged up a forested hill. Ford focused on directing the group, not paying attention to Dipper and Bailey's debate on which was better: pie or cake.

"Come on, Dip. Cake is the unquestionable best. It's literally used so much more than pie."

"Really? Or is it just more _hyped_ than pie, giving it the illusion that it's used more often. Like, think about it. Pie is used at Thanksgiving, Halloween, Pie day…."

"Well people always eat cake at, uh, weddings, birthdays, and, um…"

"Ah, and the true winner is victorious!"

"Hold on, no! Cake is also used at baby showers, and Mother's day, and bachelorette parties-"

"-Seriously? Girls eat cake at bachelorette parties?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't they?"

"Well, guys don't eat cake at bachelor parties. They just...drink. Or, maybe, eat, like, hot wings and...nachos."

"And stripper pussy."

"Wow!" Dipper exclaimed, looking at Ford from the corner of his eye, ensuring that he wasn't fuming over Bailey's crudeness, while his girlfriend snickered at her own joke. Luckily, Ford didn't seem to be paying attention. But when Dipper pecked Bailey's cheek, Ford finally spoke up and, calmly, added, "I ate cake at Stan's bachelor party."

"His bachelor party?" Bailey asked, not aware of Stan's ex-wife, Marilyn.

"Yes. It lasted longer than their marriage. Two days to be exact. It began as a quiet get together in Oregon and, eventually, we found ourselves waking up in Mexico with mustaches super-glued to her mouths."

"Wow! Where was the wedding then?"

"Well, with your Grunkle's class, he chose a 'lovely' little, run down chapel in Las Vegas. An Elvis Presley impersonator officiated the wedding, and 'Marilyn Monroe' was the flower girl."

"What did the wedding dress look like?"

Ford let out a loud laugh before admitting "It was this glitzy, fuchsia garment covered in ruffles and had puffed sleeves larger than her head - but not as large as her hair. When she walked down the aisle, she left a trail of glitter behind her. During the reception, Marilyn got so wasted, she just pulled the thing off and danced with Stan in her lingerie. Which, honestly, looked far better than the dress she had chosen for the reception. _That_ was - I kid you not - lime green. And had a sequined snake coiling around her."

The three were all laughing now, and, in between giggles, Bailey added "Sounds like something Mabel would like". Dipper agreed before pausing out of realization, then asking "Wait, how do you know that?"  
"Wha?"

"I mean, how do you know Mabel would like that kind of dress? Because you're right. She totally would."

"Uh, well, it's written all over her face that Mabel likes glitter. Literally. When Soos first hired me, I found a picture of Mabel with sequins glued on her forehead to form the words 'Glitter Luver'."

Dipper remembered that day. Dipper had brought Pacifica, as his date, to the store, and when their awkward small talk faded out, Mabel, who was spying on the two with binoculars, jumped out from behind a display of fossilized Sasquatch footprints (in reality, they were just prints of a clown shoe pressed into some beige clay and left out to dry) and wailed "Razzle Dazzle Party" before lunging at the two with a bedazzler. By the end of the night, both Dipper and Pacifica were studded with various rhinestones and the store was in ruins after their various chases, glitter fights, and hanging of shimmering streamers. As he, Mabel, and Pacifica were making "glitter angels" in the various, sparkly colors strewn on the floor, he gave his sister a familiar look. One that said he was grateful that, despite his telling her not to, she had intervened with his life. And, even with just two seconds of eye contact, she knew exactly what he was trying to tell her.

Not so soon after, he and Mabel would share their first kiss.

Dipper, Bailey, and Ford reached an ominous clearing amongst the trees, that seemed darker due to the nature perfectly blocking out most sunshine. There was a strange, stone object poking out of a grassy hill, that seemed to be the center of the area - despite it being obvious that the object was not man made. As they neared, it became clearer and clearer what the strange figure was.

A petrified Bill Cipher stood there, with moss and various plants crawling up his aged, stone exterior. A single ray of sunshine that had, miraculously, managed to push past the various plants, landed, almost angelically, on Bill's eye. However, another striking feature to the already remarkable item, was a large, lightning strike of crack splitting right through Bill's pupil, and ending within his eye.

"What is this, Grunkle Ford?" Dipper asked, already realizing that there was something forbidding about the whole situation.

"This is the petrified body of Bill Cipher. After we defeated him, so long ago, he turned to stone. I thought it was ironic really, since it gave him a taste of his own medicine after turning all those innocent people to stone. And I also took it as a good sign. I thought it meant Bill was most definitely finished. But, since I was so busy adventuring with Stan and what not, I never really took into account that this statue may have been acting as a rather poor cage for our very dangerous enemy. And, after that electrical storm last most, it appears a bolt hit the statue - causing it to crack."

"So what's the issue here? His statue has a crack. That's kind of expected. I mean, he is living in the woods." Bailey blurted out.

"Well, it's just...strange, that's all. I mean, lightning will always hit the most tallest object. And this statue is far, far shorter than the pines surrounding it, yet it was still struck. It's not even metallic! It just doesn't make any sense, and I'm afraid that there are other forces involved in this."

"I don't think you should be so worried. This _is_ Gravity Falls. Far stranger things have happened here, Ford."

"And how would you know about that?" Ford asked, whipping around to face the two.

"Dipper told me." Bailey said, her green eyes looking steadfast into Ford's glasses.

"I did?" Dipper murmured. And then, almost as sharp as lightning, Bailey glared into Dipper's eyes, and he felt chills run down his spine.

"Yeah, I did." He blurted, not even thinking about the words he was saying. "I've told her everything. From the portal, to Lil' Gideon, and even the notebook. We trust each other, Grunkle Ford. It'll be fine."

The three all looked at the other, as if in a Mexican standoff, while a slight breeze blew past them, causing Bailey's red strands to drift in front of her unyielding glare. But then, breaking the mounting tension, Ford jokingly said "Well, of course you would! You two are one of the most lovey-dovey couple I've ever seen! And trust is one of the most important things to have in a relationship."

Dipper felt his own body and Bailey's relax. The two gave each other a relieved looking smile while Ford stretched out his arms, but then focused back on the older man when he spoke once more.

"Well, I'm going to head back to the Mystery Shack. You two lovebirds going to enjoy a nice hike, or what?"

"Uh, I think we'll take the hike." Dipper said, wrapping his arm around Bailey's shoulders. With that, Ford headed back the direction they came, while the couple took a left detour, heading, instead, towards the water tower.

Beneath the structure, where Robbie's old muffin-looking "art" of an explosion had faded with time, Dipper and Bailey rested. He laid on his back, looking out at the sunset, while Bailey rested on his shoulder. He could feel sharp blades of grass beneath him, and the top of Bailey's head against his cheek. When he inhaled, he smelled the calming scent of the woods, grass, and apple scented shampoo Bailey used. Everything was calm and peaceful, and, for the first time since their breakup, Dipper was able to sit in silence without thinking about Mabel. Instead, he just daydreamed about the red haired beauty next to him, who, breaking the silence, finally spoke.

"You know, we can have sex."

"What?" Dipper said, his eyes shooting open.

She lifted her head, revealing something of a smug grin with half lidded eyes.

"I'm just saying. We can. I've already done it."

"I have too."

"Really?" She said, the two both sitting up to look at each other. "With who?"

"Pacifica Northwest."

That was not a lie. Long ago, Dipper and Mabel, after kissing each other, decided that it was best not to lose their virginity to each other. It wasn't that they didn't want to, or didn't trust each other to do it, but both didn't want to have to live with the fact that every single time somebody asked them who they had lost their virginity to, they would have to pin such a huge moment on somebody else's name. Doing that posed the risk of being caught, because if someone were to ever ask the person they supposedly lost their virginity to, it would seem pretty suspicious if the person hadn't the faintest idea what Mabel or Dipper was talking about. So, instead of lying about it, the two found someone to lose it to.

Even though the two had managed to live up to their promise, the whole thing was a dramatic disaster. While Dipper had trouble racking up the courage to even ask someone, Mabel immediately got a guy. Even worse, the man was was far more better than Dipper in every way possible, which was probably why he had such a large of hoard of girls going after him. Yep, the person who popped his sister's cherry was none other than Greggy C. of Sev'ral Timez.

After having set him free into the wild so long ago, the boy band split apart in search of different paths. Creggy G. became a choreographer for various pop stars. Leggy P. joined a freak show, posing as a hamster trapped within a man. Chubby Z., after coming out of the closet, released several LGBT themed hits (many of them being favored by Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland) and became a gay icon, before having a falling out with Madonna that caused him to fall from grace. Deep Chris's failed attempt to become the next Kurt Cobain resulted in him earning most of his wages through various, unheard of poetry shows in obscure coffee shops. And, finally, Greggy C., who had the most luck, returned to the status of teen heartthrob after taking on a bad boy persona and creating a pop rock album. His various, rebellious antics included being arrested for drug possession, jealous model ex-girlfriends throwing bottles of vodka at his face, groupies on each arm, trashing hotel rooms, and so on.

Mabel, after attending one of his concerts with some friends, managed to get into the backroom when she grabbed Greggy C.'s attention with mad whooping and hollering. Despite his usual too-cool-for-school attitude, he had enough courtesy to thank Mabel for freeing him, and invited her, but her alone, to the after party. There, he got wasted while Mabel sat, uncomfortably, in a corner, desperately trying to evade the various drunks who belched in her face while placing a hand under her skirt. Dipper remembered the various texts Mabel sent him throughout the night that described the antics of brain dead groupies and intoxicated rock stars. Her texts abruptly finished around the time that Greggy, finally remembering his old savior, sloppily kissed Mabel and invited her to his trailer.

Mabel returned the next morning absolutely ecstatic, and gleefully filled Dipper in on the gorey details - far too happy to notice Dipper's growing jealousy. But even she, in all her enthusiasm, admitted that the sex was pretty bad. Greggy C. was so wasted, he ended up just flopping about on her like a white-bellied fish. This gave Dipper little consolation, as he still hadn't lost his.

"How'd it happen?" Bailey asked, bringing Dipper back to reality, as he had zoned out -preoccupied with remembering that whole debacle.

"Uh, when I was sixteen, I was...dared to lose my virginity. I was too afraid to ask any of the girls I knew, so I ended up asking complete strangers that I met at a bar I used to sneak into back home. I met some real weirdos. I was so desperate, I almost gave it away to this crazy hermit who owned more than ten cats. By the time summer rolled around, I still hadn't lost it. Mabel, being Mabel, told all of this to Pacifica - who had lost hers when she was, like, fourteen or something. And one day at this town dance, Mabel, her friends, me, and Pacifica all snuck of to the local junkyard to drink wine coolers we had swiped from the buffet. And while everyone else was wasted and covering 'Don't Speak', Pacifica asked me if I wanted...her help in finishing my dare. And we did it in a rundown car."

"Wow. A car."

"Yep. Not even a nice one. It was practically hollowed out and completely rusted. It creaked the entire time."

"Was it good?"

Again, Dipper was taken aback by his girlfriend's bluntness. After getting over the initial shock of her brazen question, he actually thought about that night.

"Yeah. It was actually. Even though Pacifica and I haven't had the most smoothest of, um, friendships, it was a nice moment. I mean, she knew what she was doing - which was made it so nice. And she was relaxed. Comfortable in her own skin. And because of that, she wasn't so focused on hiding her body, I guess, and was more comfortable with, like, showing affection. We only did it the once though. And after, it wasn't even awkward. Granted, we never talked about it again - and we treated as if it never happened. But it wasn't awkward. It may have even made us closer. We don't really fight at all anymore. Like, there's no hidden hate between us - like there was before. And we've got this sort of connection where we can look at each other and just...know that we're special to each other."

Dipper realized he was rambling now. Though he was looking up at the now twilight sky, all he could see was the image of Pacifica, resting on his shirtless torso. In the pitch dark, her hair seemed to glow as the moonlight illuminated her pale skin. When she pulled off her tank, a frosty blue, lace bra was revealed. She smelled like lavender and clean laundry. And when she softly kissed him before leaving the car, not looking back to see his expression of absolute awe, he found her forgotten pair of lilac panties beneath the seat. He had kept them.

Coming back to reality, Dipper took a sip of the beer can Bailey had snuck into her backpack before the hike, and asked "What about you? What's your 'V-card story'?"

"Well, it was certainly not as romantic as yours, Dipster. I lost it to my French teacher in junior year. He was fifty years old, married, and with kids. When he came, he sounded like a dying dog, and he was so rough with me that I would later need stitches. But, afterwards, my grade did go from a D- to an A."

"Wow." Dipper laughed, passing the can to Bailey. "Did you ever do it again after that?"

"With him? No. I transferred out of the class as soon as I could, and I ended up having to take summer school to make up for the lost semester. But, there, I met my next boyfriend."

"Let me guess. He was seventy, used a walker, and wore a hearing aid?" Dipper joked.

"Oh, I _wish_. No, this guy was literally the spitting image of, um, St. Jimmy in the 'Jesus of Suburbia' music video, I guess."

"Oh, so a total bad boy."

"I mean, he looked like one. But he was a complete coward. He was always telling everyone about the drugs he shot up, when he was too afraid to even get a flu shot."

"Yeah, I know the type." The image of sullen, acne covered, dark haired Robbie Valentino appeared in Dipper's head.

"Well, we dated for that entire summer. And it was kind of fun. At times. At least, when he wasn't trying to shove his completely cynical philosophy down my throat. And, during those times, he taught me how to play guitar, and to skateboard, and how to deepthroat him without gagging." She added the last part casually, causing a small, devious smile to form on Dipper's lips while he picked away at the grass poking beneath his sneakers. "What about you, though? Did you ever do it again?"

"Yeah. I did." Dipper's heart raced with nervousness. He regretted saying he and Pacifica had only done it once, as now he had no reasoning behind why he was so, well, experienced in the bedroom. "I, uh, met this girl two summers ago. She was only in Oregon for two years. Really shy and awkward. It wasn't even really a relationship, since we were both too awkward to even hold a conversation. Most of the time, we just played video games and...fucked. She moved to France or something."

"Good lie. Good lie." Dipper thought to himself before Bailey spoke up again.

"Well, I won't move to France. And I won't _just_ fuck you. But there will definitely be quite a lot of it." She said, nearing her face closer to Dipper's. He smiled, bashfully, and looked into her licentious green eyes. For a brief moment, the image of Mabel's soft, brown eyes flashed into place of hers - prompting Dipper to, as if in defiance, kiss Bailey so forcefully she fell to the ground. The two feverishly clawed at each other, their shirts bunching up as they pulled up more and more. Gasping slightly, Bailey broke the kiss to ask "Do you have protection?"

"You wanna do it here? Out in the open?"

"Yeah! Do you know how much of a thrill that is?"

"I guess…"

Dipper sat up to pull out his wallet. Opening it, he pulled out the small, square wrapper before noticing the photo of Mabel he kept in there. The polaroid had aged badly: covered in creases and slightly frayed from exposure. But it's almost surreal appearing image of Mabel, standing in her glitzy, elegant prom dress with a gauzy shawl around her bare shoulders, was still visible. Looking at it caused the stabbing pain of guilt it Dipper's gut, and he quickly pushed the wallet, and it's nostalgic photo, back into his pocket.

Unzipping his pants, he rolled on the condom, and, looking up slightly, he found Bailey had already peeled off her cargo shorts and striped panties. She smirked when Dipper's face flushed red and, by pulling on Dipper's shoulders, roughly brought him to her lips. As the two kissed, Dipper position himself and moved his hips, gradually revving up the speed until Bailey broke the kiss to let out a moan. When Dipper neared the finish line, he dropped his head into the crook of her neck, while his fingers form knuckle white fists in the grass. He tried, desperately, to just focus on Bailey's scent of green apples. But, without even his own permission, the glorious image - one he had stored away in his mind just because he found it to be so stunningly beautiful - of Mabel, eyes: closed in ecstasy, cheeks: rosy red, lips: raw and glowing, moaning out Dipper's need. And that single thought drove him over the edge, and he found himself moaning into Bailey's red strands.

Panting, he rolled off her and zipped up his pants. The two just rested there silently, staring up into star studded night sky, as their breaths eventually slowed to a normal pace. But when Bailey took Dipper's hand into her own, she found her boyfriend was completely disenchanted - far too preoccupied with the burgeoning ache he had for his sister to even focus on his her.


	3. Chapter 3

"I love him so much, it just turns to hate/I fake it so real I am beyond fake/And someday you will ache like I ache" (Hole).

* * *

When Mabel had first admitted the truth to Pacifica, she had vomited right into one of Mabel's pencil cups. She didn't even apologize for ruining so many pens. She was far too furious with her closest friend for committing such a vile act with her own brother - someone Pacifica had also come to trust and think of as a friend. Now, some odd years later, Pacifica regretted not apologizing. And she regretted having such a violent reaction.

The first time she ever picked up on something…'different' about their close, sibling relationship was when Dipper had agreed to rid the callosal mansion her family once owned - all so Mabel could just have an invitation to that vapid party. Though she didn't say anything at the time, Pacifica found it so strangely sweet that a brother would do something so life-threatening for his sister. Pacifica never had siblings. Which, she guessed, was a good thing, as that meant more stuff for her. But when she did fantasize about having a sister or a brother, who she could share secrets with and run to when their parents were being neglectful or superficial, she never, not once, imagined sacrificing herself as intensely as Dipper had that day.

But it didn't end there. God, no. Once, when Pacifica was attending a rather dull dinner on a patio with her parents, she found herself staring into the stream passing by the calm restaurant. The sound of passing water was far more entertaining than the drawl her parents were spewing out - which was interrupted when the sound of wild hooting and hollering could be heard. Everyone in the restaurant went quiet and lifted their heads to see the Pine trees, drenched in water and barely managing to stay atop a pitiful, inflatable raft, absolutely screaming their heads off. Something about being their Grunkles in a race or whatever. But their cheering was so loud, that a few people gathered at the patio's railing to view, in disgust, at the disorderly duo - most of them sneering in disgust, except for Pacifica. Who, peering in between her two parents, was spying on the twins, trying as best as she could to conceal her growing smirk. The moment, as intruding as it was, was so precious, that Pacifica _had_ to take snap a photo of it on her iPhone. Yes, it was quite unlike her to actually feel affection towards, well, anything - but this really was a cute moment.

On the ride back home, while her parents nattered on about the proper punishing of children, Pacifica flipped through the photos she had taken of the whole situation - and spotted one that just had something...interesting about it. She zoomed in one Dipper's face and - there it was: the thing that had caught her attention. That had made it so "cute". Even with his face all pixelated, the love in his eyes was as clear as day. It was this sopping, sweet syrup stare that would've made hearts, even colder than Pacifica's, melt into a puddle of blush. Beneath all the curiosity and amazement, Pacifica felt the slight, rotting emotion of, well, envy. Because who the hell wouldn't want somebody to look at them that way.

Not too soon after, Pacifica found that the sibling she always dreamed of - the one who she could confide in, and be completely random around, and do anything with, no matter how contrived - was growing more and more to look like Mabel, whose goofiness and optimism seemed to be what Pacifica not only wanted, but also needed. Maybe Mabel picked up on the growing want in her heart, because she seemed to be drawn to Pacifica. Usually the two would avoid each other like the plague, only even coming near each other when talking to Dipper. But, during one town festival, the two "ended up" being partners for the square dance. And though they both moaned and groaned about having to be stuck with each other, they would later admit, during the sleepover they would have that night, they had planned to be the other's partner.

And partners they were indeed. After that night, the two were inseparable. Well, as inseparable as they could be without taking Mabel's time with Dipper. They went to all the craft fairs, parties, Summerween outings, and so on, together. Often, the night would be spent cracking jokes at the other. Pacifica would compare Mabel's constant happiness to that of a retarded pug. Mabel would refer to Pacifica as "Queen of Ice and Loneliness" casually throughout their conversations. Despite all their sharpness and wit, it was always clear that it was just fun. That everything they insulted about the other was they thing they both envied.

This sort of dynamic had continued even into high school, as evident when Pacifica answered Mabel's call with "What have you done now, idiot?"

"Everything." Whimpered the voice on the other end. Pacifica, instantaneously, knew that something was really, really wrong. Usually, even in the worst of situations, Mabel managed to laugh it off, instead making self-deprecating jokes that made her mistakes seem less foolish. But when it came to Dipper, Mabel made no effort to hide her pain or humiliation.

"Can you come over?" She continued. But by the time she had asked that, Pacifica was already tucking her baggy pajama bottoms into her boots.

As she exited the front door, a chill hit Pacifica, and she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her oversized hoodie. While walking, she craned her neck backwards to look up into the silver rhinestone bedazzled night sky, breathing in the frosty air. It didn't matter that she was going out at midnight. Her parents were far too preoccupied with their argueing to even notice when Pacifica left after her supposed "curfew".

During these late night walks, Pacifica found herself thinking about the past. About how her friendship with Mabel was unlike anything she'd ever had, which Mabel said was true for her as well. Though Mabel loved Grenda and Candy, she found them to be far too idealistic to really understand the topics she had to vent about - one of them being about, possibly, the most scandalous relationship to have ever occurred in Oregon. And Pacifica just found her friends to be absolute fake bitches. So that's what the two had. Beneath the mean jokes, the heated debates, and the hushed gossiping, there was this rock hard stability, due to the two depending on each other for therapy. Even Dipper, who was the only other person who knew about Mabel's deep secret, couldn't handle some of the worries she had. Because, often, the things that made Mabel anxious would've put Dipper in a panic attack.

Pacifica felt warmth radiate off of the cozy Mystery Shack, and found a Mabel, as she always would, waiting for her on the porch. Pacifica could tell that, whatever this was, was really bad when Mabel didn't even smile or lift her head to great her friend. This time, she just sat there glumly, despite clearly noticing that Pacifica had arrived.

"Hey." She said, plopping down by her friend on the swinging bench.

"Hey."

This close, Pacifica could see Mabel's red rimmed eyes and pink tipped nose - a clear sign she had cried, and would most likely cry again. Pacifica wrapped a warm around her shoulders, and Mabel rested her head on her shoulder, sniffling.

"We broke up, Pacifica. For real this time."

"Are you sure? You guys have talked about splitting so many times before…"

"No. It's for real. We've been split for three days now. And...and...he has a-a-a…"

Mabel's mouth quivered as tears welled up in her eyes, before she finally blurted out "A girlfriend!". Pacifica winced, as if watching a car wreck, while wrapping Mabel in her arms. She could feel her friend's back heaving with her sobs, and Pacifica knew, now, that Mabel was right. It really was over.

"She's a-a fucking _redhead_. And she's skinny, and nice, and perfect, and funny, and, ugh, sexy! She's not only everything I'm not, but everything I ever wanted to be - and one of those things that I wanted was-was Dipper!"

"Oh, honey, I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Pacifica cooed, in a vain attempt to sooth her friend. But Mabel loved Dipper. Truly loved him. And as sick, and twisted, and unethical as their whole romance was, even Pacifica knew that there was no return from something that was so intoxicating and intense. Even Mabel's sobs, ones that were agonizing and futile, just sounded excruciating. It hurt Pacifica. It physically hurt her just to hear her best friend be in this much pain. But, even with that pain, she couldn't imagine the pain Mabel was feeling now that she had lost the one person she was supposed to be with forever - both in family, and in love.

Eventually, Mabel's tears slowed, and she returned to breathing normally. The two just sat together, staring, vacantly, into the woods ahead of them. From the corner of her eye, Pacifica could see Mabel's eyes tighten, as if wincing out of pain from the pulsating heart ache. Her gut was forming knots while she watched her friend suffer through this, especially as Pacifica knew a way to end this. Well, it wasn't even really a way. It was just an idea. A small thought. A very unlikely one. But it was an option to end this pain.

"There is _something_ you could do."

"What?" Mabel croaked, lifting her head up to look into Pacifica's eyes.

"I mean, it's extremely - _extremely_ \- unlikely that it would even work. Like, completely. But it's just something that I've been thinking about ever since I missed that bus on Tuesday…"

"What is is, Pacifica!"

"I was just thinking about how Bill Cipher could control, like, time and stuff. And if you could, I dunno, enslave him, I guess, then you could get him to change time."

"Yeah, he could." She responded, her voice breathy with realization.

"There would be no more mistakes. No more missed busses. No more trips. No more heart breaks."

"Yeah, he would make it all go away…." Mabel's eyes were wide now, buzzing with all the thoughts racing through her mind, but they snap shut when she quickly said "But it'd be extremely dangerous to do. You'd have to make sure that whatever deal you made with Bill would have to be absolutely water tight. Like, you'd have to outsmart possibly one of the most smartest people in the world, just so he wouldn't find some sort of loop hole in the deal."

"Yeah, true. And I mean, we wouldn't even know how to bring him back from, like, nonexistence - or whatever."

"Well, actually, the Book does have a revival thing for dream demons."

"Uh, really?"

"Yeah. Dipper explained it to me that how it works is that, uh, the spell, or whatever, makes a second copy of him, based off of all memories of him in the world - so he would be just as powerful as ever, but he would be bound to the spell caster's mind. So, if you don't have a good hold on him, he could torment the spell caster - but only that one person, and no one else. He'd just be trapped in their mind, forever. But, knowing Bill, even within someone else's head, he would find a way to escape."

"Wow. That really doesn't sound so bad - except for the spell caster. Which would be, well, you. And something like that is, just, too dangerous."

"Oh yeah. Absolutely."

"Yep."

"I completely agree."

The two just sat there in complete awkward silence, for a brief moment, looking at everything but each other, until Mabel finally blurted, "But let's just say, hypothetically, if we did form a deal, what would we say?"

"Well, first, we would say…'We' -well-'I, Mabel Kristen Pines, want you, Bill Cipher, to…'"

"-'Make Dipper Jason Pines fall in love with me'."

"'And you can't hurt or torture him'."

"'You just have to make him not want to...ever fall in love with another woman'."

"'And you can't control any minds other than his'."

"'And you have to do all this within 24 hours. You have leave his head and...return to your statue as soon as Dipper has fallen in love with me or once your hours are up -which ever comes first'."

"'And his love can't be...obsessive'."

"Well…"

"Mabel!"

"Fine. 'His love can't be...rape-y. Basically, you can't change anything about his personality or characteristics. He just has to love me. That's all'."

The two, now wide eyed and excited, were sitting up straight, with racing hearts.

"Seems pretty water tight to me."

"Real tight."

They gave each other short, awkward glances.

"Too bad we'll never do it." Mabel said, slumping into her seat.

"Yeah, too dangerous."

"Just far too dangerous."

"What a shame."

"Real shame."

They gave each other one last look, and a small, almost indistinguishable, smile appeared on their lips, before the duo leaped out of their seats and sprinted into the woods.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, I was there and I saw what you did/I saw it with my own two eyes/So you can wipe off that grin/I know where you've been/It's all been a pack of lies" (Phil Collins)

* * *

Stanley knew. He always knew.

As soon as he saw Shermy's twin grandkids, he just saw it in them - that bond, that spark. Honestly, for Mabel and Dipper, it was love at first sight. Even when they were little babies, so stupid that they were shitting themselves, they had enough heart and drive to roll over in their cribs, just to look at each other. And that's what they did. All throughout infancy. It didn't matter where you put the two in a room, their eyes, large and curious, would always follow the other. And if you dared to even take the one of them out of the other's view, a deafening wail would escape from the two. Their first words weren't "Mama", "Papa", or even "milk". It was each other's names. Not even Ford and him were that close.

And when the kids began to visit him, the love between them became so apparent that Stan couldn't even pretend it didn't exist. He used to try and label their constant secrecy, and attachment, and possession of the other as just a sibling love. Even he had felt that sort of territoriality over Ford. But then, when he found them sharing the same bed, and even taking baths together - at the age of thirteen!- he knew that he had to do something. Clearly, his nephew, Andrew, and niece-in-law, Beth, were ignoring the problem, just as he had been for all these years, or were just oblivious to it - which seemed the more likely scenario, as, unfortunately, Andrew didn't deserve to be the parent of kids who were so wonderful.

Sitting on his rundown, tweed armchair, with a can of beer in his hand, and a remote in the other, Stan briefly peeled his tired eyes from a blaring screen. Above the television was a framed photo of Stan, his hair just beginning to gray, sitting on a pier with Sherm, who was just a shorter, darker haired version of Stan, and Andrew. While the elderly Pines were both grinning wildly with fishing poles in their hairy hands, the younger boy, Andrew: an acne ridden, sullen, lanky boy, was vacantly staring into a chunky, gray gameboy. Back then, Andrew was known,affectionately, as "Andy" - a name that he loathed, along with, really, everyone.

He was a moody, morose moron who flinched at crickets, was quick to anger, and had less thoughts than that of a rock. Thankfully, Andrew exchanged his teenage anger for extreme vapidness - particularly after he ended up having a shotgun wedding with Beth, who was, at least, far more interesting than her husband. Ironically, she and Stan had an instantaneous connection when they first met at her wedding. The two were both foul mouthed, free spirits who had something of a tainted past full of partying. However, all such interest in his niece-in-law quickly dissipated when he learned how neglectful she was of the kids. Beth was so busy with a real estate agent that she couldn't even make it to her kids' birthday parties or graduation from high school. And Andrew was just so dull, that it was if he wasn't even there - instead evaporating into the crowd. The kids tended to spend most of their time with their Grandpa, who lived with the family. Not because he needed support, but because they needed him just to be a parental figure for the kids.

Thinking about how subtly broken their home was gave Stan some explanation as to why the kids would end up being so drawn to each other. I mean, the most consistent relationship the two had ever had was in each other. Even Stan and Ford, as much as they wanted to, couldn't provide the kids with a stable home - except for during the brief two months they would stay in Gravity Falls. Part of the reason Stan never even tried to move out of this weird-ass town was because he didn't want to tear away another thing the twins had come to love so much.

And now, it was turning out that the twins _had_ lost each other, despite the two only really having each other. Stan's conversation with Mabel at the diner caused him the excruciating realization that whatever demented, twisted relationship the two were carrying out was, officially, over - and so was there bond. Stan could just see them - most likely Mabel, in all honesty - spinning out of control. She would require whatever male attention she could find, clinging onto whatever scum winked at her. And Dipper, without his spontaneous sister pushing him to take risks, would become just as mundane as his old man. And, God dammit, Stan couldn't do anything about it.

Frustrated, he clicked of the TV - his glum reflection appearing in the screen. Lifting up on his creaky knees, he rose from the couch and waddled to the gift shop - intending to get a pack of peanuts from the vending machine. In the pitch dark, he entered the gift shop. The room was quiet, calm, and still - not bustling with the various dweebs Soos had managed to fool. Rays of moonlight passed through the windows, landing on the various displays of merchandise, and acted as the only source of light while Stan tried to press the vending machine's buttons - with fail, as he had forgotten his flashlight. But, before he could leave the room to fetch it, he heard...crying.

The sound emanated from the gift shop entrance. He neared the area from the side, ensuring that he wouldn't be seen, and, peeking through the window, could see Mabel heaving sobs into a patiently listening Pacifica's shoulder. As silently as he could, he pushed open the sliding window - fully preparing to eavesdrop on whatever conversation was going on. He settled himself in between two shelves, as best as he could with his large stature - but was startled by the oinking of a nearby pig. With his eyes now used to the dark, Stan could see the small creature nearing him - still wearing the paper tie Mabel had fashioned him last week. His squeals got rapidly louder as he approached, and Stan realized he was soon going to be caught. As swiftly as he could, Stan grabbed the three dollar recording devices Melody had recently ordered, turned it on, and placed it by the window, before grabbing the irritating pig, that Mabel insisted on always traveling with, and crawled out of the room.

Stan went up to Mabel's room, where he left the pig. Even with the lights off, it was apparent that Dipper hadn't gone to his bed - despite it being 2:43 AM. Wondering as to where the boy was, Stan headed down to the basement - where Ford had made something of a bedroom (if you call a cot in a laboratory a bedroom). Not even bothering to knock, he found his brother hunched over various textbooks. Before clearing his throat to catch Ford's attention, Stan noticed that the basements walls had gradually collected various artwork. Some of it was Mabel's various, messy doodles she made as a child. Others were Dipper's blueprints for contrived machines. There were the occasional stickers and doodles Mabel had put on the wall, often to Ford's annoyance. But there were a lot of photos, many of them depicting the twins. But unlike Stan's photos, the twins weren't posing: Ford had taken those photos when they weren't looking. When he had them at their most exposing, vulnerable state.

Ford, finally taking notice of his brother, grunted - not even bothering to look up from his reading.

"Do you know where Dipper is?" Stan asked, plopping down on the cot.

"Last I saw, he had left with Bailey after our hike."

"Hike? What hike?"  
"Our hike to Bill's resting place. I wanted to show them the strange anomaly with the lightning strike."

"The lightning strike? Why would you do that? I thought you and I talked about how...suspicious that Bailey girl is."

"I know. That's why I took her. I wanted to see her reaction when I expressed concern." He said, shutting his book and placing it atop a large, unsteady stack.

"And…?"

"And it was just as I expected. She became tense. Nervous. Aggressive. Especially when I suggested that I should try to figure out why the lightning strike had occurred. My guess, she wants Bill for something. Maybe she broke him loose recently, and that's why that whole storm happened. Heck, maybe that's how she got Dipper - by having Bill make him fall for her. Their whole romance really did develop quite quickly."

"I don't think Dipper's in love with her." Stan said, plainly. He did his best to not suggest that something far more complicated was going in that whole romance section.

"Why do you say that?"

"Just a hunch."

Thank God for Ford's social ineptness, as he never, not once, picked up on the two - of course, Stan had done some tampering to ensure that.

Stan always made sure to be the one that woke the kids, fearing that Ford would catch them sharing a bed. And when the two bathed each other, Stan was sure to keep Ford with only one twin - preventing him from seeing the other with wet hair and making a connection. But the most detrimental thing Stan had ever done occurred on Christmas day.

The kids were sixteen at the time, and were visiting for Winter break. Before arriving, the duo had started some sort of argument. Their fight, however, wasn't one that siblings have. It was a "lover's quarrel". And, as the twins, he, and Ford hung ornaments, the tension between them was as thick as humidity in Mexico. The two, particularly Dipper, were making some of the most sharpest jabs he'd ever seen. While Ford and Stan had always taken to fist fights to relieve anger, those two would exchange toxic insults that would've broken even the strongest of spirits. Everything from their appearance, their past mistakes, and even their grades was made fun of. And, after Dipper made a comment on Mabel's inability to keep a man, she burst into tears - and ran upstairs.

Everyone, but Mabel, was aware of how protective Stan and Ford were of her - including Dipper, who was too busy dealing with his own remorse to even cower at the glare his Grunkle's were giving him. After swiping his head with a rolled up newspaper, Stan firmly told his great-nephew to march upstairs and apologize to his sister. Dipper didn't need to be told twice, and, tentatively, he climbed upstairs.

Minutes turned to hours, and Dipper hadn't returned. The tree was finish: bright and tinsel covered, it stood upright in the gift shop corner. Ford and Stan sat, idly, around, not really knowing what to do without their young, bouncy children who were the sole reason the elderly men had even bought a Christmas tree. After letting out a frustrated sigh, Ford announced he was going to go up there and see if they were done. When he lifted, however, he caused a plate of gingerbread cookies to fall over - and he knelt to his knees to pick them up. Due to Ford being distracted, Stan elected himself to check on them.

Trudging up the stairs, he called out there name - but became concerned when he received no response. To this day, Stan couldn't really pinpoint why he decided to not call their name again, but he just didn't. He only walked up the stairs faster. And, cracking their door open, his eyes found Dipper, his jeans at his ankles, atop Mabel, whose skirt was lifted and her thick sweater bunched up to reveal a mint colored bra. He could see tears falling down her eyes, and he almost intervened - fearing the worst - until Mabel pulled Dipper down into a rough, ragged kiss. Stan shut the door as silently as he could, his gut beginning to twist and turn. With a hand over his mouth, the other grabbed the wall to steady himself. His heart was beating so loudly, he almost didn't hear Ford's steps coming up the stairs. The feeling of action overpowered his shock, and he rushed down stairs - stepping in front of a startled Ford, who didn't understand why Stan's arms were stretched out so forbiddingly.

"Stan? What's wrong? Did you check up on the kids?"  
"Uh, yeah." He answered, nervously.

"Well, are they alright?"

"Yep. They just need to, uh, talk some more. They have a lot to work out. Real emotional."

"Oh, well I should step in and make sure they're doing okay-"

"-Nope! I don't think that's necessary?"

"Stan? Are you alright? You look very...pale…" Ford asked, quizzically.

"I'm fine. I'm just fine. I just, uh...remembered that we...forgot to buy cookies!"

"We did?"

"Oh, yes! Can't forget those extremely important cookies!" Stan said, grabbing Ford's arm and dragging him into the car.

All the way to and from the grocery store, Ford would occasionally ask if Stan was okay - whose contemplative silence and flush of color was unlike him. But Stan always responded that he was fine, just low in blood sugar. When they returned home, they found twins, acting normally - as if they hadn't even been fighting - sitting around the tree, having made the cookies that, in reality, the family was never missing. Stan remembered that, after Ford had left the room, he had just stared at the twins as they joked and laughed, wondering if he should confront them. Shame them. Tell them they had to stop this instant. But he looked at the happiness in their eyes, and could see the clear relief they felt now that their fight had ended - and decided that he wouldn't start more drama. Mabel had cried once today, and that was already one too many times. He instead bit into a cookie, and shakily let out a joke - one that caused the twins to burst into laughter. And just like that, everything had returned to normal.

And now, here Stan was, sitting beside Ford - with that familiar palm sweating, gut turning fear he had had. He didn't know what to do anymore. An affair was already almost impossible to hide. But a break up? One that was catastrophic, painful, and most certainly not amicable? There was no way he could hide that. Stan looked at his brother with the same wide eyed, panicked stare he had shown the kids on that Christmas day so long ago, and contemplated telling Ford everything: the relationship, the heart break, his own hiding of it, and finally release the weight he had always been carrying.

But when he opened his mouth to speak, all that came out was "So what are you going to do about Bailey?"

"Nothing. Not unless she does something, which I highly doubt she'll do. There's not much Bill can do in a human form - not with how weakened he must be from everything that happened. Best thing to do is watch her...or him?"

"Yeah. Good. Sounds easy enough."

Stan lifted off the bed and prepared to head out the door, but was stopped by Ford speaking up once more.

"Oh, and, Stan, I'm going to bed soon, so if you see Dipper, could you give him, well, 'the talk'. I've got a sneaking suspicion, with how brazen Bailey is, those two are most certainly having intercourse."

Stan shuddered at his brother's use of the word "intercourse" before nodding, and swiftly going up there stairs, thinking to himself "Ford, with how much experience he's had, Dipper doesn't need any 'talk'."

Stan had almost forgotten about the recording device, but was reminded by Dipper, who trudged back into the house, so tired that he didn't even notice his Grunkle Stan standing in the dark kitchen. After his great-niece had gone upstairs, Stan snuck into the gift shop, and, based off of the calm silence, figured Mabel and Pacifica had finished their conversation. He picked up the recording device, finished it, and sat down on a nearby barrel to play the recording.

He fast-forwarded a bit, ending to hear "-and perfect, and funny, and, ugh, sexy!". He continued on some more, ending on "-His love can't be...rape-y". This, shocking him slightly, caused Stan to rewind a bit, and he ended up landing on the most shocking part.

"'No more mistakes. No more missed busses. No more trips. No more heart breaks.'

'Yeah, he would make it all go away….But it'd be extremely dangerous to do. You'd have to make sure that whatever deal you made with Bill would have to be absolutely water tight. Like, you'd have to outsmart possibly one of the most smartest people in the world, just so he wouldn't find some sort of loop hole in the deal.'

'Yeah, true. And I mean, we wouldn't even know how to bring him back from, like, nonexistence - or whatever.'

'Well, actually, the Book does have a revival thing for dream demons.'

'Uh, really?'"

His heart racing slightly, Stan fast forwarded more, praying that the two had, hopefully, agreed not to.

"'Too bad we'll never do it.'

'Yeah, too dangerous.'

'Just far too dangerous.'

'What a shame.'

'Real shame.'"

Stan let out of a breath of relief - that then hitched when he heard the sound of their footsteps leaping off the porch, and fading out as they ran into the woods.

Without even another thought, Grunkle Stan, even with his two bad knees, sprinted out the gift shop and headed towards Bill's statue. From the attic window, Dipper, after pulling off his jeans, noticed his Grunkle, wearing nothing but an undershirt, boxers, and fuzzy slippers, running, frantically, into the forest. Even though he was exhausted, cold, and dying to go to bed, Dipper let out an annoyed sigh, and put his jeans back on, slipped on his dark Harrington jacket, and grabbed a flashlight before heading into outdoors. Out in the brisk cold, he lost feeling in his nose, and a subtle feeling of fear filled his gut now that he was so exposed in the vacant darkness. But, when he heard the trudging of his Grunkle's fast footsteps, determination preoccupied his mind, and Dipper swiftly followed after Stan.


	5. Chapter 5

" _Then brother get back, cause my breast's gonna bust open/The rib is the shell/And a heart is the yolk/And I just made a meal for us both to choke on"(Fiona Apple)_

* * *

A chill nipped at Mabel and Pacifica's exposed faces as they neared the Bill Cipher statue, that appeared, almost angelically, beneath rays of moonlight. The two stopped before the statue and Mabel pulled out her iPhone.

"Uh, Mabel? I don't think this is...really the time…"

"What? I'm looking on my phone for the pictures I took of the journals?"

"Really? You took a screenshot of every single page?"  
"Yep. Dipper insisted that we both did it long before Bill got to destroy the journals."

Mabel searched through the large collection of photos, eventually finding the reviving incantation - which had the striking drawing of an eye slowly opening. Ignoring the gut twisting feeling that was blooming, Mabel held the phone out and yelled out, rather dramatically, a strange, rhyme-y incantation. Pacifica slowly stepped away, noticing the sudden rustling of trees and rushing of winds. She, too, was getting an unpleasant, anxious feeling in her stomach. When the wind grew stronger, now causing her blonde hair to whip into her face, Pacifica called out to Mabel - but her voice went unheard, as Mabel was now yelling out the end of her incantation. With the finishing line echoing across the forest, Mabel ended - her eyes closed, as if waiting for an instantaneous apparition.

Instead, the wind stopped, and the forest stilled. And, rather anticlimactically, a cartoonish, obviously altered, voice emanated from the statue.

"Mabel Pines! I have been revived!"

Mabel looked at the still stone statue of Bill with a cocked eyebrow, and then at Pacifica, who looked just as confused, and then back at the statue.

"Um...Bill?"

"Yep?"

"You, uh - is this...is this it?"

"What do you mean 'is this it'?!" Said the voice, losing its alteration, due its genuine offense, and sounding a bit more...feminine.

"Ok, sorry, it's just...this just seems kinda…"

"-fake." Interjected Pacifica, who quickly stepped behind the statue.

"Oh, hey, yeah, no stepping behind the statue, please-" The voice began. But, after Pacifica stepped behind the statue and, rather, roughly, began to pull on something, the voice became far more furious and threatening."Hey, quit it, bitch!"

With one last, large tug, Pacifica pulled up, none other than, Mabel's most loathed redhead.

"Bailey!" Mabel cried."What the hell are you doing here."

"I don't have to answer that." She haughtily replied, crossing her arms and turning her nose up in the air.

"I think you do." Pacifica said, holding a fist up.

"Bailey, is this some of kind of joke to you? I'm actually trying to do something that could change my life!"

"Definitely not! You don't realize it _yet_ but this is kinda life changing for me too!"  
"Really? Because you seem pretty unchanged to me!"

"Well, yeah, because you ruined everything!"

"How!?"

"You did this whole incantation thing _way_ earlier than I expected. Like, seriously, you're first choice was supernatural forces!? I mean, didn't you even think about, I dunno, making Dipper jealous?"

"I - well - you - wait, how do you know about me and Dipper!"

"Oh my god, is it not completely obvious?" Bailey moaned, rolling her eyes.

"Oh my god…" Pacifica murmured, clearly having a sudden epiphany.

"See, even the _blonde_ got it before you did, sister!"

"Mabel, she's-"

Just then Mabel was interrupted by the sound of her name being called out by her Grunkle Stan, who, huffing and puffing, emerged from the woods. Pathetically stumbling over to her, he then, with barely any strength at all due to his exhaustion, flipped the phone out of her hand.

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel cried.

"Don't do that incantation, Mabel!"

"I already did, and all I got was fricken' Bailey!" She said, pointing at the girl Pacifica still had her grasp on.

"I, uh...wha?" Stan said, clearly confused. He was fully expecting to walk in Bill Cipher, in full, powerful form, preparing to wreak havoc on Gravity Falls. But the conversation was once more interrupted by another voice calling out Mabel and Stan's name, and, this time, Dipper stepped out of the woods - completely confused as to why an irritated Pacifica was desperately holding onto Bailey, who was frantically trying to sprint into hiding.

"Dipper?" Stan and Mabel said.

"What's going on? Why is Bailey here? Why are you here?"

There was a brief pause as everyone awkwardly glanced at each other, before Mabel loudly said, "Why is anyone here? That's the _real_ question. I mean, what is our purpose-" but was then interrupted by Stan.

"Cut the crap, Mabel. I heard you're entire conversation with Pacifica!"

Both Mabel and Pacifica lost all color, realizing that that meant Grunkle Stan also knew of Mabel's deep secret.

"I can't believe you would be so stupid as to try something like this. Do you have any idea how reckless this was of you!? And this is coming from _me_!" He yelled, not caring about the immediate hurt that filled Mabel's eyes. He was furious. Not because of how selfish or impulsive all of this was, but because he couldn't bare the thought of all the consequences Mabel would have had to face. The thought of her getting hurt was what made him so pissed off.

"I'm sending you kids right home after all of this!" He blurted out, but immediately regretted this, as absolute chaos broke out amongst the five. Dipper yelled at Mabel. Mabel yelled at Stan. Bailey yelled at Pacifica. Pacifica yelled at Stan. Stan yelled at Pacifica. The tension was gradually rising, heading for an implosion of some sort, as everyone's words became sharper, and tears began to form in a few eyes. And then, it all came to an abrupt end.

With a sudden flash and earth-shaking crack, a teenage Arabian girl, wearing an elegant, bejeweled, mint hijab and kaftan, appeared, with a stunning, blinding glow to her. She had a calm smile and her eyes, once serenely closed, slowly opened. Everyone there stood, in stunned silence, at the sudden apparition, who seemed to be fully enjoying the stunned expressions she had caused. Before anyone got the chance to speak, she clapped her heavily ringed hands - causing another flash - and Mabel and Bailey were gone.

Dipper, Stanley, and Pacifica gaped at what had just happened. In mere seconds, an angelic figure had just stolen two people - and what were they supposed to do now?

"What was that?" Dipper finally croaked, a lump forming in his throat when he realized that Bailey and, more importantly, Mabel were gone - and would, most likely, not be coming back anytime soon.

"I think….it was a genie."

In the blink of an eye, Mabel found herself sitting, cross legged, on a couch cushion. Despite it feeling like she had been sitting comfortably on the cushion for hours, it took her a few minutes to actually figure out where she was. Looking around her, she found a well decorated, but rather rundown apartment. The peeling, water damaged wallpaper was nicely covered in various fine oriental rugs, and a moldy linoleum kitchen flooring was given a bright, orange and red, checkered paint job. From the teal kitchen cabinets hung exotic, dried spices and herbs that added to the wonderful smell of the home. Behind Mabel was an arabesque screen room divider, and two her left was a rather stunned looking Bailey, who also sat cross legged on a couch cushion. And, across from her, was the Arabian girl from before. Not glowing as brightly as before, but still just as striking in her beauty. She calmly drank tea from a cup, patiently waiting for her two guests to get over the shock.

"Um...hello?" Mabel murmured.

"Hello." The girl responded, calmly. "Would you like some tea?"  
"Not really…"

"Soda? Water? Coffee? Cheese and crackers?"

"No. No. I'm...fine…"

"Suit yourself." She said, sweetly, before returning to her drink.

Mabel waited for a few seconds, hoping that the girl might introduce herself or something, and explain what the hell was going on. But, instead, she just silently focused on her drink. When Mabel looked to Bailey, she found that she looked far more relaxed than before - and was even pouring herself a cup of tea, as if she knew this place to be familiar. Mabel, realizing she was going to have to ask for answers, cleared her throat.

"Um, who...are you?"

The girl looked up, almost deviously, before placing her cup down and straightening her spine.

"I go by many names. I've been called 'Highness','Princess','Goddess', and even 'M'am'. But you can call me Najila."

"Right, Najila. So, sorry if this is, uh, rude, but...what are you?"  
"I'm a genie." She said, proudly, holding her palms out as if displaying herself.

"A genie?"

"Yes. Do you not believe me?"

"No, I totally do. I mean, you would not believe the stuff that I've seen since I came to Gravity Falls. I'm just a little shaken. A lot has happened today."

"I'm aware."

"You are?"

"Yes. I've been watching you - well, I've been watching Bailey. But you certainly have caught my attention."

"You've been watching Bailey? Why? Is she a genie too?" Mabel said, looking at Bailey, who wasn't even listening to the two as they talked about her.

"No, quite the opposite actually."

"Then _what_ is she. Because, from what I'm picking up on, she's not really normal."

"No, she - well, _he_ is not."

"He?"

"Yes. You might know Bailey better as Bill."

"Bill!? As in the triangle guy Bill!? The one who's insanely evil and wants to take over the world!?" Mabel yelled, now glaring at the redhead beside her."

"Yes. And I'm also the Bill who you were about to beg to help you." Bailey mumbled.

"You're not trying to take over the world as well, are you?" Mabel asked Najila, ignoring Bailey's sly comment.

"No. At least, I don't intend to. Bill and I, long, long ago, when he was still within the 2D dimension, met when he freed me from my lamp. His first wish was to become a dream demon, which was, quite clearly, granted. His second wish was to have an opening into the 3D dimension, which I allowed him - but only through the most constricting way possible. I saw his devious plans for the 3D dimension, and I decided to take advantage of the vagueness in his wish, so I only allowed him to entire the minds of others in the 3D dimension, and that was all. We had also agreed that the third wish, his last, would be cashed in at a far later time. And, trillions of years later, that's exactly happened."

"He used his last wish? For what? He's not exactly as powerful as I remember him to be."

"Well, his wish was to return to his previous existence. But I have my limits on how sinful a wish, and I agreed to let him have _a_ existence - but only a mortal one, if he chose to stay in the 3D dimension. And such an existence would only last for about a week every year. Once the week was up, he returned to his statue. And Bill chose to be a flawless, teenage redhead."

Mabel snorted slightly before asking Bailey "Really? Was it, like, a lifetime long wish of yours to be a pretty teenager?"

"From what I deduced, Bill, in the form of Bailey - who he set up to be the appearance your brother would be most enamored by - planned to seduce Dipper, make you so jealous that you then tried to revive Bill so that he could agree to make Dipper fall in love with you, but, in reality, Bill would find some way to manipulate you into freeing him from the constraints of your mind - and taking world domination once more. However, you decided to use Bill's help long before Bailey could leave her human form - a time when she had no chance of being summoned. And, of course, I, being particularly fond of the 3D dimension, just _had_ to stop this."

"Really? You're fond of this place."

"Oh yes. With your Disneylands and Hello Kitties, this really is quite a lovely dimension! Possibly the most entertaining one I've ever visited."

"How many have you been to?"

"Honestly, I've lost count. Some were terribly dull. One was just the inside of a cardboard box. But that's not important! What is important is _you_."

"Me?"

"Yes. I feel horrible that I've let Bailey - or Bill - or whatever - cause you so much pain. I want to make it up to you. I'll give you a wish of your own. Just one though. I can't do anymore than that with someone who hasn't actually freed me from a lamp."

Mabel felt a warm, optimistic sensation rise up in her. They had taken the scenic route, but Mabel had ended up where she wanted. She was finally getting the chance to take this all away. All the heartbreak, and lying, and pain.

"But there are some rules even with you."

"Oh yeah. Sure." Mabel said, trying to not get ahead of herself in the oodles of wishes she was hoping to have granted.  
"Ok, well, first, because I'm feeling _generous,_ I'll give you a preview to any 'rough drafts' you have of wishes. That way, you'll know what to expect. And, you can't wish for more wishes, or to be a genie."

"Right. Understood." Mabel said, hoping that was it.

"And you can't make someone else just abruptly fall in love with you."

"Damn" She murmured, her heart sinking fast.

"But you can wish for things that might _make_ someone fall in love with you. I can't make the ending, but I can send you on the right path - if that makes sense."

"Okay. Gotcha."

"And, please, don't ask for anything...sinister. I am being selfless here."

"Yeah. Totally."

Mabel thought for a minute. What were the things she wanted most? Well, Dipper, definitely. But she couldn't just _have_ him be in love with her, just like Najila had said. So what would _make_ him fall in love with her? Being prettier? No. One of the most nicest things about Dipper was that appearance really didn't mean that much to him. Even if he did have a thing for redheads, it certainly wasn't a necessity he needed to have in a partner. What about...intelligence? Did Dipper not like Mabel for being so, well, naive? From what Mabel could tell, Dipper actually seemed to envy Mabel for having more "street smarts" than him - and Dipper never felt attraction for particularly smart girls, no matter how many times she had set him up with one (this was, of course, long before their whole affair had started). Really, was there anything that Dipper wanted to change about Mabel?

That's when Mabel realized the fact that she didn't really know if Dipper had fallen out of love with her. He never explicitly stated that he had fallen out of love with her. He just said that they couldn't be together.

But wait - if love conquers all, then if Dipper truly, genuinely loved Mabel, wouldn't those feelings overpower the fear he felt about the two being caught? Yes - there it was. That was the proof that Dipper didn't love Mabel. And, had it been any moment before now, she would've found that evidence to be utterly depressing. But, for this situation, it was actually nice to have that, as it only gave Mabel even more drive to go through with all of this: with running off with her brother, with using supernatural powers to help with love, to bite more than she could chew.

So what was it that would revive Dipper's feelings? Mabel thought, as her eyes wandered the room - before landing on Bailey, who was now, looking rather bored as she did so, picking at her nose.

"Wow, I was actually intimidated by this girl." Mabel thought to herself, before being struck by an epiphany. She would give a Dipper a taste of his own medicine - well, it wasn't _his_ medicine. It was more of Bill's. But if Dipper wanted to the two of them to "move on", then move on Mabel would - and with a far better looking man. One Dipper just _had_ to beat.

"I know what I want!" Mabel declared, beaming over her brilliance.

"Here we go…" Bailey moaned.

"I wish to be in a relationship with someone who was completely in love with me, and would make Dipper _mad_ with jealousy! This man would have to be better in appearance, intelligence, popularity, success - everything! Just make sure that he makes Dipper so jealous, that he had to win me back."

"You realize that you are literally repeating the same mistake that I did, right?" Bailey said, scoffing.

"Hey, you're thing almost worked. There was just a timing error." Mabel pointed out.

"Right. Would you like a preview?" Najila said, seconds from snapping her fingers.

"No, no, no. We're wasting time and I'm positive this will work. Besides, with how lucky I seem to be - seeing that I am literally getting a _free_ wish from a genie - what's the worst that could happen?"

"Famous last words…." Bailey mumbled, before Mabel, not tearing her eyes from Najila's, elbowed her in the ribs.

"As you wish." Najila, sounding as if she had been defeated, before snapping her fingers.

And then it all went black.


	6. Chapter 6

" _How many special people change/How many lives are living strange/Where were you while we were getting high?" (Oasis)_

* * *

Dipper stood in the dark, puffs of vapor leaving his parted lips as he started into the empty forest. Between the trees, he only saw a dark, endless void, that was still without any life. No birds, insects, deers, and, most importantly, no sisters.

His blood quickly rushed to his ears, his palms began to sweat, and his heart dropped to his stomach. With a sudden, thoughtless rush, he whipped around and yelled "What's wrong with you!?"

He wasn't really sure who he was yelling at. He was just so scared, and so afraid, and so...guilty. He had just lost his sister, for who knows how long, and she would never know how much he was aching for her at that moment.

Pacifica ended up answering Dipper's cry. Her hands were lifted to her chest slightly, as if she were a scared little girl clutching a toy to her chest and, with fearful, watery eyes, a small squeak left her frozen lips, before she cleared her throat, and began again.

"I-I thought maybe...I could help her."

"By setting her up with one of the most dangerous creatures out there!" Interjected another voice that was, oddly, not Dipper's, but Grunkle Stan's. "What is that you even needed from Bill!?"

Pacifica eyes, amazingly, managed to become even more fearful, as she shut her mouth tight, her eyebrows knitting out of guilt. Defensively, she crossed her arms, and looked down at her boots. She looked so small and remorseful, even Dipper felt some pity for her. But then he remembered that his sister was gone, and that same fury from before slowly formed again.

"You're not going to say!?" Stan yelled, his hands clenching into fists. Pacifica stepped back after noticing his white knuckles, and Stan calmed slightly - realizing that Pacifica actually believed that he, a boy who loathed the beatings his father would so often give him, was going to hit her. The thought alone of having a small child, especially one that looked as guilt ridden and lost as her, caused a pang of ache in his heart. He exhaled and, with a defeated tone in his voice, sighed "I'm sorry, Pacifica. I-I...I'm just...sorry. Pointing fingers isn't going to help us at all. We just...we just need to...trace our steps. Maybe we'll find something."  
Dipper wanted to disagree. He wanted to yell and throw something. Maybe even sock somebody in the teeth, and feel that draining euphoria that comes with stinging, inflamed knuckles. His stomach was wringing itself out, urging - begging - _commanding_ him to just yell. Because he had broken up with his soul mate, his best friend, his sister all for nothing. If he had known that Mabel was going to disappear today, he would've never have left her. Hell, he would have never even left the bedroom. And if they had, he wouldn't stop kissing her. And, no, they wouldn't do what they usually did - which was have quick, ragged make out sessions in vacant alley ways, or under clothed tables. He would kiss her, openly, proudly - not caring who gasped and pointed at the _perverted_ Pine twins. Mabel would've been his most precious jewel, one that he was so glad to hold.

But, instead, here he was, standing in an empty forest - without a jewel, or a sister, or a lover, or, really, a friend. And all feeling of anger, or anxiety, or revenge - dissipated like the vapor trailing from his lips, so that he could just be filled with a drowning feeling of absolute grief. With that, he dropped to the ground, pressing his eyes into his knees as his hands pulled on his hair. Stan and Pacifica, wide eyed and unsure about what to do, just watched as Dipper's back heaved with every silent, shaky sob he let slip. And they wanted to comfort him. To lay a hand on his shoulder, and tell him everything was going to be alright. But in reality, nothing was al-

Just then, a brilliant flash occurred - the earth, once more, jarring beneath the three, and spreading a rumble that traveled across town. Only a strange silhouette could be seen due to flash's brightness. But once the blinding light faded, and their eyes became used to the dark, all three made out the strange sight.

Before them, an attractive, strong jawed, muscled, and blonde eighteen year old boy - who looked as if he had just been ripped right out of an 80's heartthrob contest - carried Mabel in his arms, bridal style. The boy was balanced atop the Bill Cipher statue. One foot steadying itself on Bill's outstretched arm, while the leg was bent so at land on the rim of Bill's top hat. He was looking up into the sky, as if posing for some sort of Tabloid magazine that was detailing how he had found the cure for cancer or saved drowning puppies or something.

"I" He began, proudly and with intense vocalization, "Have saved... **Mabel Pines**."

An opera choir was possibly suppose to be behind him, as he just paused - waiting for some sort of applause or grand finish. Instead, Pacifica, Grunkle Stan, and Dipper all glanced at each other, unsure as to what the literal hell was going on. The awkward silence was interrupted by Bailey, who, clearing her throat, stepped out from behind the posing couple, looking rather irritated as she maneuvered herself off the statue - without any help from the "heroic" boy.

"Uh, yeah, hi." She scoffed. "This is uh…"

"Chad!" He boomed.

"Yeah, _Chad_. He's Mabel's boyfriend or whatever."

Grumbling, she stepped next to Dipper and, rather forcefully, placed one of his limp arms around her stiff shoulders - but didn't return any of the same "affection", as she just crossed her arms and fumed silently.

"You're Mabel's…" Pacifica said, sounding rather confused.

"Soulmate!" Chan interjected.

"And how long have you two...known each other?"  
"That I do not know! But nor do I care, as my heart, soul, and life is devoted to this pure goddess." Chad stepped off the statue, not even deterred by having to carry Mabel's limp body. "Onward, comrades! We must find Lady Mabelton a bed rest!"

Marching off towards the Mystery Shack, that he, oddly, knew the existence of, the others trailed after him - all in a slight daze from all the weird ass things that had happened tonight.

Mabel woke on her bed, feeling a dozen eyes on her before she had even lifted her head up. She flinched slightly when she was met with the intense stare of Stan, Dipper, Pacifica, and - could it be? - _Chad!_ Mabel, realizing that Najila had actually granted her first wish, she threw her arms around the boy, squealing loudly before prepping small kisses all over his face - which Chad gladly reciprocated, not even phased by the comfortable affection exchanged between the two. From the corner of her eye, Mabel could see the shocked expression on Dipper's face, and the eye roll that Bailey gave the two.

"You two, uh, know each other…?" Grunkle Stan asked.

"Of course! He's the gallant hero who saved me from…"

"The genie?" Ford asked, appearing in the doorway. "From what you've all described, with the flash and the Arabian woman, it sounds that it was a genie who took you, Mabel."

"I would've thought a genie would've been nice." Stan said. "Seeing as there is a whole Disney movie centered around one."

"Well, not all are as nice as Robin Williams's, Stanley. There are five different types of 'jinn', many of them being mischievous tricksters, while others are pure evil. It seems Mabel, for some odd reason, attracted a doozie of a genie."

"Well, we were trying to get a wish granted." Pacifica mumbled.

"Really? What wish?" Bailey snapped, with a cruel smirk.

Pacifica and Mabel looked at each other with a panicked expression, and both of their eyes landed on Dipper - who flinched when he noticed their stare. Abruptly, Mabel blurted out the most frivolous thing she wanted. "Weight loss. We - I was wishing for weight loss."

Both Stan's and Dipper's eyebrows raised, questioningly, while Ford let out a patronizing, disappointed sigh.

"Mabel, if you wanted to lose some weight, you should have just...picked up some of our old aerobics tapes. You didn't have to awaken the forces of evil."

"I think you need to _gain_ weight." Chad said, matter-of-factly.

"Thank you, Chad." Mabel cooed, before placing a kiss on his cheek. Again, she caught the small frown that Dipper showed.

"So what happened after you two disappeared?" Pacifica asked.

Mabel looked to Bailey, whose smug, expecting expression told her that she was just as excited to hear about Mabel's adventure with the genie.

"Well...she took us to this...strange desert. And Bailey landed in camel poop and wouldn't stop complaining about it, either. She smelled bad the whole time, by the way. And we wandered the desert for... _days_."

"Days?"

"Yes. Days. And the genie said...that once we find the...hidden Oasis...we could return home."

"An oasis? Were there desert storms and white camels" Ford asked.

"Uh, yes! The whitest of camels and the, uh, _stormiest_ of desert storm appeared."

"And what about anthropomorphic animals?"

"Yep. Those too."

"Oh, that's strange. I wouldn't have thought there would have been any…"

"Oh! I mean, no! There weren't any...talking animals. I thought you said, um, 'performance animals'. Which there were some of."

"And what did you do? How did you meet Chad?"

"Well, he was...training those perfomance animals...that I mentioned...earlier….and he offered to help us find the, uh, the…"

" - Oasis?"

"Yes!"

"And how did you help them, Chad?"

Mabel's stomach lurched, fearing that her gorgeous boyfriend would have no idea what she was talking about. She looked into his bright blue eyes, before he gave her an assured smile, squeezed her hand, and turned to the others.

"Well, with the help of my performance animals, of course!" He answered, convincingly. Mabel breathed out a sigh of relief while he continued."I used my desertfox, Loop, to smell for any plant life, and he led us to the Oasis."

"Yes, and...there...I had to fight the genie!"

"She was very brave."

"I was so brave. I punched her, and...and pulled her hair, and I, uh, lowered her self esteem."

"Yeah, she really lowered her self esteem."

"I so did. And, once she was in tears, I told her to take us home. And she did that."

"If you won the fight, then why were you unconscious when you returned?" Ford asked.

"Oh, um, because seconds before we left the, uh, the heat was just - oh my God, the heat was just so...so... _intense_ , that I fainted right into his arms."

"Yep. That's exactly what happened."

"Exactly."

"Word for word."

The whole room went quiet, everyone trying to take in the entire story. As the deathly silent seconds passed them, Mabel began to feel a panic rise in her chest. Her story was so clearly not true, and the family was bound to see through it. And then they would wonder why Mabel had lied, and they would ask Bailey, and she would spill everything, and -

"Well, it seems everything's fine now!" Stan announced, slapping his hands onto his knees. Lifting himself from the seat, he left the room, with Pacifica and Ford following after him - all saying good night. Mabel's shoulders slumped down, with intense relief, and she felt Chad's loving gaze on her. As she reached in for a kiss with him, she noticed Dipper, standing with Bailey in the doorway, murmuring something to her. She scowled, glared up at him, before exhaling and storming off. Dipper let out his own hefty sigh, before slowly turning around - his expression immediately becoming cross when he noticed Chad kissing his sister.

Dipper, clearing his throat, grabbed both of their attentions. Taking a hint, Chad squeezed Mabel's hand before leaving the room - but not before he gave Dipper a brief, threatening stare, that Dipper only responded to with his own glare. Once Chad's distancing footsteps faded out, Dipper's face softened, and he sat down on the side of Mabel's bed.

Unable to even make eye contact with her, Dipper took her hand, squeezed it, and kept it in his lap, before finally forcing himself to look at her.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Mabel."

"For what?" She asked, innocently - despite beaming over the fact that her wish may be giving her exactly what she wanted.

"I'm so…so sorry that I did this. That I went off with Bailey so abruptly. I should've distanced this out more, or just not even dated her at all."

This was music to Mabel's ears, especially that last part. She could just see Dipper booting that redheaded bitch out of their life.

"I just thought that by dating her, us breaking up would be more...solidified. You know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"But it was a mistake. A huge mistake. I mean, she's nice. But she's not...not you. And this whole thing of almost losing you has made me realize that I'm not ready to just completely leave you - "

"Me too, Dipper. Me too." And with that, Mabel, closing her eyes, leaned in to, finally - after all the trouble, and tears, and suspense - kiss him.

"Whoa, what are you doing!?"

That sentence was sharper than a knife plunging into her ribs. Mabel ripped her eyes open to find a startled looking Dipper backing away from his sister, as if she were some sort of dangerous animal.

"What...what are you doing?" Mabel said, her voice squeaking, slightly, due to her throat clenching by the obvious fact that she was not getting Dipper's love as easily as she thought.

"I said it was a mistake to date Bailey, but I didn't say it was a mistake to end what we had."

"What?" Mabel whispered, her voice now breaking as tears began to form in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mabel. God, I'm so sorry. But, even after all this, I still think that we can't...I mean, it's not like you almost disappearing is going to excuse the fact that our relationship is twisted. We still can't do this. It's just...just wrong."

Mabel tried, with as much strength as she could, to conceal herself. She even managed to let out a hushed "okay". But her mouth, contorting and twisting in a desperate attempt to keep itself shut, burst out a loud sob, and Mabel's hands immediately went to conceal her eyes. She could feel her body shaking with how hard she was crying. And with every sob she heaved out, it seemed another part of her energy, her drive, her determination exited her chest. She didn't know what to do anymore. It seemed that at every turn and corner of this maze she was running through had a dead end. And she was just so _tired_ with losing.

The cold, harsh loneliness she was drowning in drained, slightly, when Mabel felt Dipper's arms wrap around her. As if two puzzle pieces, she seemed to fit in his embrace perfectly - and, for the first time these past three days, she felt a feeling of comforting familiarity. His breath hit her ear, as he whispered "I'm sorry….It's okay….I'm so sorry….It's going to be okay….". And Mabel, lifting her head, fearing that she was soon going to burst - or maybe cave in - with how deep this ache was, lifted her head so her red rimmed, watery eyes could look into his.

"Dipper, please." She pleaded, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. "Please. Please."

His throat, too clenched to even form words, caused him to only be capable of mouthing the word "No, no, no", as he moved his lips closer, and closer to hers - until, as if it were an automatic reaction, he found himself laying on top of Mabel. Their kisses were so ragged and feverish, he found himself incapable of even breathing. But Dipper didn't even care. He just had to savour this moment, even if it was one he had promised himself to never repeat, he just had to savour it - to make it worth all the pain and ache they had endured for the past three days. His hands, pinning Mabel's wrists to the bed, were now going white at the knuckles, and rough, uneven pants left his mouth in between their kisses. His ears, flaming red at the tips, were pulsating wildly, and he felt a similar sort of palpitation down in his groin. With one hand, he reached down to undo his zipper - but paused to rest his head on Mabel's, after feeling a sudden pang of remorse, over leaving Mabel, but gratitude, for returning to Mabel. In that moment, the world seemed to slow - as it always did whenever Dipper looked into those soft, brown eyes.

"Mabel, I love you."

A sweet smile formed on her lips, and it's corner intersected with the tear that trailed down her cheek. And this could've been possibly one of the most sweetest moments in the world, had Dipper not felt a sudden, choking, tug on his shirt collar.

Dragged down to the floor, Dipper was so startled, he could barely even make out a fuming, red faced Chad standing over him. A knuckle bulging fist drove into Dipper's nose, causing a searing, blunt pain to ripple through his entire skull. More punches, delivered at an even faster rate, were directed into Dipper's nose - only interrupted by Mabel, who pounced on the boy.

Seeing stars, Dipper didn't even notice as Mabel, clawing desperately onto her far larger boyfriend, begged Chad to stop - to not hurt him. She was sweating bullets, now with tears bursting out of her eyes as the one, most pronounced thought raced with her mind: "I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here". And then, Chad, flinging Mabel off with a ruthless, harsh amount of force, delivered a sharp kick into her brother's gut - causing blood to splatter out from his swelling face.

"Dipper!" She cried.

And everything went to black..

In the calm darkness, a slow, sarcastic clap echoed through, and Mabel, gradually realizing that she had the ability to do so, opened her hot, teary eyes.

She was back in Najila's apartment, with the same old cup of tea, pillow cushions, and oriental rugs. In front of her, Najila sat, quietly waiting, while beside her, a monotone Bailey was clapping her hands at a cruel pace.

"Bravo." She said, cynically. "You are just such an inspiration to the masses, Mabel Pines."

"Hush, Bill. It didn't really happen."

"You mean…" Mabel began, a feeling of absolute relief and disappointment, washed through her.

"...this was just a preview." Najila finished.

Mabel let out one last, shaky sob, her hand flying to her chest out of exasperation.

"I have never been so terrified in all of my life." She breathed.

"Really? Not even when I almost killed you?" Bailey asked, in disbelief.

"No. The fear I felt then wasn't even as half as intense as the one I felt now." Mabel said this, through gritted teeth and a seething glare, with such sharpness, that Bailey actually got a look of...fear.

"So, I'm assuming you don't want me to grant that wish?" Najila asked, holding her fingers up - seconds from snapping them.  
"God, no!"

"Good. That's what I thought. So let's try to come up with a new wish."

But Mabel was done. There was far too much disparity in her heart to even think about something remotely uplifting. Instead of brainstorming more ideas, she just pushed her head into her palms - continuing to let out heavy sobs. Not only was this "preview" absolutely terrifying - to the point that Mabel's fingers were shaking, but it was also an extremely harsh reminder that Dipper, even after almost losing Mabel, wasn't willing to reconcile with her.

For the first time, Mabel felt absolute hopelessness. All those other times she cried, she did so because she had so many solutions - but not the ability to enact them. But now, as she sobbed harder than ever before, she cried because she had no solutions. No ideas. Nothing. There was nothing she could do.


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry for the wait, I went through a bit of writer's block! But here's the latest chapter, which is also possibly the longest one. I actually ended up rewriting this thing, like, four times before being satisfied with this, so I hope you enjoy!_

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 _"I've been looking for a savior in these dirty streets/looking for a savior beneath these dirty sheets" (Tori Amos)_

* * *

Najila tentatively laid a hand on Mabel's shaking shoulders, and seemed to relax into the contact when the sobbing brunette didn't flinch. An ache formed in her rib cage - a sort of pain that Najila, due to all the greedy, selfish men she had granted wishes for, rarely felt. And yet, this small girl - barely able to even comprehend just how daunting Najila was, was making the powerful genie feel some actual remorse over teaching a lesson. It was just with how much pain that could be heard in a single sob that caused Najila to feel the most remorse, and she even found Bailey, whose cruelty surpassed many, to even be looking away from Mabel's sobbing figure - as if trying to give the young girl some privacy.

Leaning over to the brunette's ear, Najila whispered softly "Mabel. Mabel, please stop crying. I'm sorry that I showed you such a disturbing image. I should've have told you the truth."

"Nonsense!" Bailey cruelly yelled. Both Najila and Mabel, who lifted her head just to do so, glared at the redhead, but she still continued."I've been sitting here for - what, an hour now? - listening to you bawl about you mushy 'wuv' for a Dipper and what not. Well, I've had it for kid!"  
"Bailey, shut up." Najila said, through gritted teeth.

"You want an answer, Mabel? Well, I've got an answer."

" _Bill_. I mean it. Stop talking."

"You're a selfish brat who doesn't even deserve a happy ending!"

"What!" Mabel squeaked, snapping up into a sitting position. "Like you have the right to talk! You're the one who's trying to _seduce_ my brother."

"Yeah, but I'm not trying to do the right thing. Despite that, I seem to be a way better person than you!"

"How the hell are you better than me?"

"Look at yourself, Mabel! You were willing to get the help of a dangerous, lethal demon - just to have your…'boy toy' back. Nevermind the fact that you put millions of lives at risk! All that matters is that you have your little boyfriend back. What's even worse, is that you're literally doing everything in your power to give _yourself_ a happy ending! I mean, you say you love Dipper - and yet you'd rather put your own happiness over his."

"What do you mean by that!? Seeing Dipper get beaten up by Chad was possibly the most horrifying things ever!"

"Granted, you are bawling like a baby over seeing some blood. But, in my time, I've seen some real romantics give up their own _lives_ just to satisfy their hoe. And yet, here you are - not even willing to see a reality where Dipper is, I don't know, extremely happy with someone else - let's say with, uh, maybe the person who has an actual nice, healthy crush on him: Pacifica fucking Northwest!"

"I - wait, what?"

The room suddenly fell into a deafening silence, with only the soft sound of the whirring overhead fan making any noise at all. Najila, her hands pinching her forehead out of absolute frustration with the idiotic redhead, was holding her breath - fearful that even exhaling would be the onset for some sort of deafening chaos.

"Di...Dipper...and Pacifica?" Mabel squeaked, her voice noticeably catching on the last name.

"Yeah, I thought - you _should_ know about this. Dipper said he lost her virginity to her."

"No...he said..he said that he lost it to the-the woman whose dog he was walking."

"Oh." Bailey murmured, amazingly, looking, well, remorseful.

"How do you know that-that she has a...a crush?"

"I mean, when I was still, you know, in power...it was kinda obvious."

"Do you...think he has one too?"

Najila and Bailey looked at each other with wide eyed, guilty looking eyes. Though Najila's expression said not to, Bailey answered truthfully.

"Maybe...a little bit."

With a voice as hopeless sounding as a penny being dropped down a well, and never finding an end to splash into, Mabel responded with a simple "Oh" before a few more tears, silently slipping out now, fell down her cheeks. Bailey, uncomfortable with the rarely felt guilt that was overcoming her now, crossed her arms and tried to look away from the mess she had caused.

"Maybe...Maybe this is a good thing." She said, her voice sounding betrayed and wavering, despite the positive things she was saying. "Yeah, This is...this is a good thing. Be - Because this means that Dipper now has someone. You're...You know you're right, Bailey. Dipper does deserve a happy ending. And maybe...maybe he can find it in Pacifica - who also deserves a happy ending."

Everyone knew, even Mabel, that she was lying to herself. But Najila could already tell, even without Mabel's command, what she wanted. Tentatively, she took Mabel's hand, who didn't even react to the contact, as she was far too busy trying to hide her tears - before Najila harshly grabbed Bailey's elbow as well.

"This time, you're coming as well!" Najila hissed, before taking a deep breath in.

The apartment's lights became brighter and brighter, until the light was blinding. Mabel covered her sore eyes as the room turned white, and she began to feel a strange coldness nip at her skin. Moving her hand from her eyes, the compression of down fabric on her once bare arms made Mabel realize that she was now wearing a jacket. The whiteness surrounding her revealed itself to be flakes of snow, that, gradually, dispersed to show a quiet, empty neighborhood. While the streets were empty, the houses - some containing the sounds of laughter and music - were glowing, through the winter night, with Christmas lights. Before Mabel was a two story cabin - one that looked strikingly familiar.

The coldness caused a sting to hit Mabel's hands, and she stuffed one into her pocket while the other was prevented from moving by another hand. She looked down and found a small, blonde boy, most likely only four years old, calmly holding her hand. Mabel, entirely shocked by the unknown child, stared at him - only to be met by his calm gaze. Slightly confused by her staring, he then squeaked, out of concern, "Mama?" Mabel's breath then hitched.

"That's your son." Said Najila's voice to Mabel's left. She turned, but, surprised when she didn't see Najila standing by her, looked around the empty neighborhood.

"Down here, Mabel." Said, a previously unnoticed, corgi by Mabel's feet.

"Najila?" She asked, making sure that she wasn't just hallucinating her voice.

"Yep." The corgi responded, Najila's voice emanating from the creature's moving mouth. "I'm going to be by your side the entire time. Just as a corgi. Bailey's here as well."

"Really? Where?"

"Down here!" Bailey grumbled. Mabel looked to her right to find a teddy bear, with sweet button eyes and beige fur, in the boy's arms, grumbling like nobody's business. "I can't believe this! Of all the things to turn me into, you made me be a fucking teddy bear!"

Mabel was about to scold Bailey for cursing in front of the young child, but his placid stare at the house suggested that he was completely deaf to the voices of the corgi and the bear.

"Who's the kid?" Mabel asked.

"This is your son, Isaac."

Mabel, her heart racing slightly at the shock of the whole situation, kneeled down so she was eye to eye with the boy. Turning him so that he faced her, she examined Isaac's face. A round chin, button nose, pale expression…

"He looks nothing like me." Mabel concluded.

"Isaac looks far more like his father, Adam."

"Adam?"

"Yep. You're husband. Well, _ex-husband_."

"Aw…"

"Don't be too upset. The split was entirely amicable, and you're on good terms. He'd be here right now, but he's constantly busy working for the United States Air Force."

Mabel smiled at the sweet boy - her son, who, despite knowing him for less than a minute, was causing a strange, warm longing to form in her heart. Mabel had always been the baby crazy type, but she felt an absolute love towards the child that was nearly tearing her to shreds. Was this what motherhood felt like? An almost constant ache for someone that was right next to you? Picking up the boy, she turned to face the house again, now realizing, due to the frost laced water tower off in the distance, that they were still in Gravity Falls.

"What's going on?" Mabel asked, trying to look into the house's various windows.

"I've taken us sixteen years into a future where Dipper and you never started a relationship. Come on, let's go inside."

The group slowly walked to the door, passing by various abandoned toys in the front yard. Knocking on the door, Mabel could hear the sounds of muffled laughter and giggling within the house. There was some commotion, quick footsteps, and then the door swung open to reveal a familiar looking man. There was a moment of silence as Mabel tried to make out the face. Dark stubble, wethered flannel, thick, brown hair, a Dipper shaped birthmark…

"Mabel!" Said the thirty four year old Dipper, happily hugging her and Isaac. Far too preoccupied with checking out the inside of the house, Mabel was unable to even give her on greetings.

The inside of the house radiated a feeling of warmth and comfort. A messy, cozy home, lined with various Christmas decorations, was crammed full with various children and some of Mabel's oldest friends, who, though recognizable, had changed with age. Ford, now balding and carrying a cane, played checkers with a Chinese-American boy who, based on how he referred to Ford by his first name, was his stepson. A woman, who looked similar to the boy, came over and kissed Ford's head, and he lovingly said "Wanna play checkers with us, Jen?". Off by the Christmas tree, Stan, balding as well but still full of a youthful vigor, had his arm around Lazy Susan while chatting with Grandpa Shermie. Soos was chasing after various giggling children, who all loudly greeted their mother, a pregnant and happily overwhelmed Melody. Soos, in passing, gave a quick kiss on her cheek before she laid a bowl of mashed potatoes on a large dining table.

"Did you have any trouble getting up here?" Dipper asked, grabbing Mabel's attention from the lively surroundings, but the two were interrupted by a plucky, blonde six year old squeezing between the two to tightly hug the rather frightened corgi.

"When can we have a doggie, Daddy!" She whined to Dipper. Another young girl, this one five years old and with hair similar to her Mabel's, grabbed onto Dipper's leg and said "Please, Daddy! Can we have one next Christmas!" The two girls both wore colorful sweaters, obviously made by Mabel. The blonde's had the name "Elaine" stitched into it, while the brunette's had "Josie".

"You had to bring the dog?" He said to Mabel, jokingly.

"Of course! How else will I get to see you in pain!" Mabel responded quickly.

"Is my favorite grand-niece here yet?" Said Grunkle Stan, earning Dipper's pout. Mabel quickly fell into his hug, glad to feel such a tight embrace. Ford came up from behind to ruffle Isaac's head, commenting on how much the boy had grown. With a shy smile, Isaac hid his face in Mabel's shoulder, earning a round of "aw"s from those that watched. Mabel felt a tug on her jacket, and she looked down to find Elaine.

"Auntie Mabel, can we show Isaac our butterfly family?"

"Do you want to see their butterflies, Isaac?" Mabel asked her timid son. With a small, innocent smile, he nodded, and she placed him on the floor. The three children zoomed off down the house's hallway. Barely able to escape their running, a slender blonde woman emerged from the hallway as well, carrying a camera. Lifting her head, her eyes spotted Mabel and a large smile formed on her face.

"Mabel!"

"Pacifica?" She responded, rushing into her arms.

The two wished each other a merry Christmas and exchanged small talk. Noticing how flustered she looked, Mabel asked "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Oh yeah, my hands are definitely full. Could you go up to the office and fetch some more film for the camera?"

Pacifica then rushed off to the kitchen, leaving Mabel to figure out where the hell the office was. With Najila trailing after her, she ventured down the halls, passing by a room with the door left open. Peeking in, she found a pink colored, butterfly decorated bedroom. Isaac, Elaine, and Josie were all peering into a sticker covered plastic box where two monarch butterflies flapped about. In the hallway, Mabel found a wall lined with various framed photos. She examined them each with Najila commenting all the while.

One photo showed Dipper, in a tux with his hair poorly combed back, exchanging rings with Pacifica, who looked stunning in a white dress. Off on the side, Mabel could make out her own figure, wearing a mint dress alongside two other ladies. Acting as Dipper's best man was Stan, who, as best as he could, was hiding back tears.

"Dipper and Pacifica got married?" Mabel murmured.

"Yep. Without your relationship, the two ended up dating in high school and got engaged at graduation."

Dipper's bachelor degree in computer science hug by another photo of Pacifica, exhausted and with a tired smiling, wearing a hospital gown while lying in a bed and holding a sleeping newborn. Dipper, looking absolutely giddy, sat by her, an arm draped around her shoulders. The next photo, one taken in their twenties, was of Pacifica, Dipper, and Mabel, heavily bundled up, drinking hot coco at a ski resort. The next one was of Pacifica, about ready to burst with her second pregnancy, holding her belly against Mabel's, who wasn't quite as bloated. The finale photo showed Mabel sitting on a cement doorstep, clearly under a hot sun, holding an infant Isaac, while Dipper sat a step below her, his two daughters on his lap.

The sound of Isaac, Elaine, and Josie leaving their bedroom pulled Mabel's attention from the photos, and she walked up a set of stairs, eventually locating the office. In there, Mabel was able to deduce that Dipper, working for a large tech company, was now a programmer. His desk was lined with various papers, pens, and photos of his growing daughters. One photo caught Mabel's attention, as it showed her and Dipper - only twelve years old - fast asleep with the Grunkle Stan on the couch. A slight pang hit Mabel's heart as she realized that all of this - the happiness, the marriage, the children - was all going to happen. That Dipper, regardless if Mabel loved him or not, was going to marry Pacifica. And while they were living the idealistic life, Mabel was a single mom - envious of her brother's happiness.

Just then, Mabel's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps near the slightly ajar office door. Peering out the opening, Mabel saw Dipper and Pacifica exiting their bathroom with batteries and screw drivers. While Dipper stared right at Pacifica, almost as if in defiance, her body faced him, but her eyes looked down and to the side - as if she couldn't even stare at him.

"I need you to deal with the reindeer on the roof. They're-"

"Pacifica, can you at least try to pretend to be happy." Dipper snapped, in a hushed voice. She said nothing, only continuing to look away from him. "Look, people are going to pick up on something if you can't even look me in the eye."

Instead of responding, she only turned her back to him completely, earning an annoyed sigh from Dipper, before he headed downstairs. Once his footsteps had dissipated, Pacifica let out her own sigh, and dropped her head into her hands. From her hiding spot in the office, Mabel heard a small sniffle before Pacifica lifted her head, exhaled so as to compose herself, and headed downstairs.

Okay, tensions are high. But it probably meant nothing. Everyone is stressed during the holidays, so the two were just a bit snappy with each other because of it. That's all. There was nothing to worry about. With this in mind, Mabel shuffled through the drawers, found a roll of film, and went downstairs.

Pacifica was chopping up carrots in the kitchen, and smiled when Mabel handed her the roll - though she noticeably didn't lift her eyes when she did. Both of their attentions were caught by Dipper, who with a coat and hat on, announced that he was taking the kids out to a nearby park. Pacifica sharply inhaled - as if out of anger, but she went back to chopping, now at a much faster pace.

"Soos? Melody? You guys wanna come?" Dipper asked.

"Naw, dude. Us and the kids should help out in the kitchen."

"Cool cool. Lady Mabelton? How about you and Isaac?"

"Sure thing, Dipster!" Mabel said.

The group of five, with Najila trotting amongst them, headed outside in the now placid, winter night. The sky was entirely clear, revealing a dark sky studded with stars. As they walked down the icy sidewalk, Dipper and Mabel pointed out to the children the various stars that they knew, until they reached a snow layered park. The various swing sets, seesaws, and monkey bars were covered in glistening frost, which soon melted off as the kids rampaged the area. Even Dipper and Mabel, by folding their knees up to their chests, managed to swing on the monkey bars - but ended up in a battle of trying to kick the other off, which the children cheered and hooted at. Soon, the battle on the monkey bars, evolved into a snowball fight. With every man for himself, the five hocked clumps of snow at each other. Mabel and Dipper found themselves laughing so hard that they were wheezing like old man. Doubled over, trying to catch their breath, the two snickered and rubbed their hands, trying to get some feeling back into them.

"God, I wish I was a kid again." Dipper said.

"Me too. Oh my god, me too."

Their attention was then grabbed by the sound of a loud cry, and they neared the commotion to find Josie, laying on her belly, with a bloody, snot oozing nose and tears rolling down her red face, while Elaine and Isaac stood near by, unsure of what to do. Mabel stepped over and picked up her bawling niece, while Dipper, in an effort to not ruin the fun, offered to help the kids build a large snowman.

Mabel carried Josie to a nearby park bench, which, due the warmth of a nearby street lamp, wasn't covered in frost. Mabel craned Josie's head back and pinched her nose, causing the girl to let out a whine from the contact.

"You know, I one time broke my nose." Mabel said, in an effort to distract the girl.

"How?" She sniveled, already forgetting about the pain.

"When your parents and I were fifteen years old, we went on a camping trip in these very woods. And your parents, the total meanie butts, decided to play a prank on me, and put a fake snake in my sleeping bag. As soon as I saw it, I started to scream, and I jumped out of my sleeping bag and I took off running. But I ran right into a tree and I hit it so hard, that I, not only broke my nose, but got a concussion too. The two had to carry me back into town. Which, I guess, serves them right."

Josie, no longer crying anymore, laughed at the story, not even remembering her bloody nose. Despite Mabel being fixated on making sure her niece's nose was fine, she noticed how Josie's sweet giggle slowly dissipated into a worried frown.

"What's wrong, honey?" Mabel asked, earning a long, anxious stare from the small girl.

"Auntie M, can you keep a secret?"

"Of course."

"Even from Daddy?"

"Yes. Definitely." She said, moving from her kneeling position in front of Josie so that she could sit beside her.

"Were Mommy and Daddy happy back then?"

Truth was, this was a memory from Mabel's "original timeline", one where Pacifica and Dipper weren't dating like Josie most likely thought them to be. But Mabel still answered, "Yes, of course they were. Aren't they now?"

"No. Not at all."

"What do you mean, Josie?"

Tears prickled in her niece's eyes, but this time not because of her nose. With a wavering, small voice, Josie continued. "They try to hide it by going outside, but Elaine and I still hear them fight. And they fight so much, Auntie M. Even more than me and Elaine. And Daddy says he doesn't sleep on the couch, even though we see him do it all the time. And I know it's bad that he does, Auntie M. I just know it. They think we don't know, but we do. "

"Josie, nothing bad is going to happen. They're just...stressed. All parents fight during the holidays."

"But they fight even during the summer, and on Easter, and on Halloween. They always fight. Sometimes not even with words. Sometimes they just fight by not saying anything at all."

Mabel moved the small girl onto her lap, rocking her slightly as she cooed,"No, don't worry about anything. Everything is going to be fine. Absolutely fine." But this was an utter lie. One that tainted Mabel's lips. Because she wasn't sure at all if things were going to be fine, and that meant that even an ending with Pacifica was a happy one.

Dipper's voice, faded and off in the distance, called out Mabel's name. She looked up, and found him, grinning and waving his arms wildly, in front of a stooped snowman. Behind him, Elaine and Isaac played tug-of-war with Najila using Elaine's scarf.

"Hey, come on! We're gonna go back home! It's almost dinner time!" He yelled. Mabel, carrying her niece, walked over to the three. She could hear Josie's quiet sniveling as she neared the group, and Mabel's stomach began to form knots. Dipper noticed her worried expression and asked if she was alright, which Mabel answered to by blaming the cold for her change in mood.

With the family setting the table, Mabel excused herself to the ladies room, instead going up to Dipper's bedroom do to do some, well, snooping.

Stepping in, the cozy warmth of the house immediately evaporated, and Mabel noticed the cold, artificial, almost "hotel like" unfamiliarity of the room. With its beige walls, simple bedding, and clutterless surroundings, the bedroom had almost no personality. No memorabilia, quirks, or even trash. Frankly, Dipper or Pacifica could pack up everything they needed this room in less than an hour, and no one would even recognize it to be once their bedroom. There was some personality in the bedside tables, in how they quite clearly marked which side was whose's. The left table, clearly being Dipper's, had a rubix cube, book on ghost sightings in Oregon, and pack of spearmint gum. Mabel, briefly checking over her shoulder, opened up the drawer.

She didn't know what to find. Maybe love notes from a mistress. A sonogram of a love child, perhaps? Or, on a positive note, maybe condom wrappings - showing that the couple was, at least, still having sex. Instead, she found stacks of papers, news articles on UFO sightings, and...and….

"Mabel?" Dipper said, slightly surprised to find his sister rifling through his drawer. She whipped around, a mixture of both anger and worry in her eyes, as she held out a translucent, orange pill bottle to him.

"What's this?" She demanded, doing her best to swallow down her desire to cry. "Antidepressants?"

Dipper said nothing, looking confused, and slightly offended by his sister's almost interrogating tone, as he shut the bedroom door behind him.

"Why the hell do you need antidepressants, Dipper?" She said.

"Mabel, what is with you? You're the one who recommended them." He answered, making his way over to her.

"I did?" Mabel's voice broke, and she sat down on the bed - her mind now whirling with the realization that, as much as she both loved and hated the possibility that they were meant to be together, Dipper and Pacifica are more miserable than Mabel is without the ending she wanted.

"Yeah, after….after the whole 'roof incident'." He said, ashamedly.

"Roof incident? What roof incident?"

"Mabel, how could you forget this? We were standing on top of my office building, two years back. Pacifica and I had had that really big fight. And I was standing on the ledge, and I was saying I was going to….yeah."

"You tried to kill yourself."

"Yeah. You were there for all of this, Mabel."

"But...but why, Dipper? You and Pacifica look so happy!"  
"Are you kidding? We can't even look each other in the eye!"  
"You guys look so happy in your wedding picture! What went wrong?"

"Honestly, I ask myself that everyday. Sometimes I wonder if it's because we, I don't know, grew up, or if being parents changed us, or something. Or maybe, as depressing as it sounds, we were never in love. Like, or honeymoon phase felt like the beginnings of love - but that was the happiest we got to be. Ever since we left that time, we've just been nothing but...strangers. Honestly, having a crush on her was better than actually being with her."

"But...why kill yourself? What about the kids? Your job? Me!?"

"Mabel, look at my life right now! I'm working a shitty corporate job - just another drone in the office, and I come home to a wife who absolutely loathes me. And, I mean, the kids…God, I love the kids. But the only reason I haven't even divorced Pacifica is because I know she's going to get primary custody - by whatever means possible - and then she's going to take them to fucking France, where she always wanted to be."

"What? No! Pacifica would never be that cruel!"

"Maybe not when she was a kid. But, I dunno, being in a relationship has just made us both...so….so...mean."

Dipper eyes laid down on a photo of him, only six years old, with Mabel. The two were covered in paint and glitter, flashing off toothless grins and wrapped up in each other's arms.

"Who'd've known that my happiest years would've been with you."

He turned back and looked in her eyes, giving her a stare that was so familiar she instantly recognized it. It was the same look he gave her before their first kiss, beneath their sheets, under a table, in the shadows, even in the bathroom that they had broken up in so long ago. It was a look of realization, as if, every so often, Dipper was reminded that the one he loved - his long lost soulmate, who he had been searching for all this time, was beside him along. And then he kissed her.

Before Mabel could realize how wrong it was, she gave into it - as it was a kiss that she had been aching for for all this time. Dipper found himself laying on top of her, his hands cupping her face. Their kisses were therapeutic for him, by, oddly so, having a similar sensation to that of ripping off a band-aid - as if it were something he had, unknowingly, been aching to do for years - and only now was he satisfying that need. It was a feverish, desperate kiss. It was a slow one. Almost as if it was a kiss between lovers who were being reunited.

But all of that was lost when the door opened, and Pacifica's scream ripped through all bliss. Dipper ripped himself away from his sister, standing up to nervously run his hands through his hair. His eyes were frantic, wide, and bloodshot, as he stammered out some sort of excuse. Mabel, her head spinning and her heart going a million miles an hour, did the only thing she could think to do - she ran.

Pushing past a stunned Pacifica, she sprinted down the stairs, grabbed Najila and Isaac - despite the protests of her friends and family - and slipped through the front door. The frosty air stung her exposed skin, and, despite having forgotten her got, she didn't turn back, only running towards the street. The wind was beginning to howl, carrying flakes of snow that sent chills through her when they made contact with her red cheeks. Even above the winter wind, she could hear Dipper's desperate calling of her name. She turned to find him running after, just as frigid as she was, and his eyes red rimmed from, what she assumed to be, crying earlier on.

"Please, Mabel, don't go. Please. You can't...you can't fail on me. Not like everything else."

She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. She could feel Isaac's squirming slightly in her arms, and realized that the boy must be horribly confused, and yet she couldn't even bring herself to put him down. Instead, he slipped out of her arms, and, as if out of fear, Isaac backed away from the situation. Dipper, instead, approached her, eventually taking her hands in his own.

"I know it's messed up, and twisted, and weird but...there has always been something between us Mabel. And maybe...maybe this was suppose to happen."

"Yeah. I get that feeling too." She croaked, almost laughing at his obliviousness about an alternate world where _he_ was the one breaking _her_ heart. And, yet, Dipper was now begging for the two to do what she had always wanted to do: be together.

Not caring if the entire family was watching from the windows, Dipper placed a kiss on her lips, cupping Mabel's face in his hands as he did. He ended the kiss, to rest his forehead against hers before speaking once more.

"Let's just go. Let's just get the hell out of here. Take the kids and run."

"You mean elope!? What about our friends? Our family?"

"If they really love us...won't they understand?"

"Dipper, I…."

Mabel's voice was drowned out by a particularly shrill gust of wind. The two looked off to the distant forest, and could see a wave of snowflakes quickly coming at them. As the blizzard passed through them, the wind now resembled that of various screams, which sent Mabel's hair flying in front of her face. The blizzard wedged itself between the two, and all warmth of Dipper's hand left Mabel's. Once the air around her grew white due to the surrounding snow, she called out her brother's name - but her throat was filled with cold, searing air. Eventually, the area became just a blank sheet, with the frigid temperature slowly descending to a warmer sensation and Mabel, back to being a eighteen year old, sat in the living room beside Najila and Bailey.


	8. Chapter 8

" _Remember, you promised me/I'm dying, I'm dying please/I want to, I need to be/Under your skin" (Courtney Love)_

* * *

"It didn't work…" Mabel murmured, arms now hugging her own shoulders. Even Bailey, who was once so cruel to the Pines twin, was saddened by the failure of this preview. Hiding herself behind her knees - sadly not having a thick sweater to do so in, she continued. "And I was so sure it would."

It seemed chaos trailed after her where she went. It didn't even matter that she was trying to do the selfless thing, Mabel had still managed to cause the breaking of a family.

"Maybe Dipper would be better off if I was just never born…"

"Oh no, no, no!" Najila said, with such confidence that Mabel lifted her head, surprised by the genie's change from tentativeness to certainty, and gave her a confused look. "Mabel, that was one of the first possibilities that I looked at and, let me to tell you, it doesn't go well."

"How bad is it? I want to see?"

"No you don't. With how badly you reacted to the first preview, I can't do that this time."

"Why? What happens to Dipper?"

"Mabel...Dipper...without you...Well, first off, your parents, now that they don't have their hands full with two kids, never sent Dipper away during the summer, so he never got to meet Grunkle Stan or even go on any adventures. And, since there was now enough money to afford it, they sent Dipper to boarding school, where he was bullied. Every. Single. Day. And when he was sixteen... I saw it with my own eyes, Mabel. He made a noose out of bed sheets and he...he…"

Mabel's hands covered her mouth, holding in a silent scream. The actual possibility that Mabel's existence was the main reason Dipper was still alive completely astounded her, and also added the weight of extreme responsibility on her shoulders. No matter what wish she made, it could result in her brother's death, or his happiness, or Pacifica's happiness, or even everyone's happiness!

"What do I do, Najila! Everything just keeps on going wrong!"

"Well, what is that you want? Just start from there."

"Ok, my biggest want is for Dipper and I to be together - if it's secret or not doesn't matter, I just want us to be together. But I'm also willing for Dipper to be happy, but it seems that that's just not going happen. Even now, if I were to leave and not make a single wish, things would still go wrong. He would date Bailey until she fricken' took over the world-"

"True." Bailey said.

"-Or they would break up, and...and...he would probably go off Pacifica and everything would just go downhill from there."

"Well, there was kind of a happy ending to that last ending." Bailey said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, you and Dipper did end up together. And he was willing to runaway with you."

"Yeah, but after, like, sixteen years. And our entire family found out, and we hurt so many people, and if we did run away, we would have to care for all these kids who would be completely disgusted with us and-"

"-But you were together, and I thought that's what you wanted."

"Yes, but we could only do that by running away. And running away hurts so...so…." Mabel's voice trailed off as a realization dawned on her. Najila and Bailey gave each other quick glances, unsure about what was wrong with the once panic stricken Pine twin. Bailey even ended up waving a hand in front of her eyes, just to make sure that she wasn't have a narcoleptic fit or something.

"Earth to Mabel? You still with us?" She said.

"Huh? Yes, I just...I just had a thought." She murmured.

"What kind of that?" Najila asked.

"I'm...I'm just realizing that this entire time I've been avoiding the idea of completely leaving my family. Of running away with Dipper."

"Is that what you want to wish for, Mabel?" Najila asked, taking her hands into her. "For Dipper to run away with you?"

Again, Mabel thought long and hard. Her eyes, half lidded as she mulled it over, began to grow cold as stone once she drew closer to her conclusion. She looked right into Najila's eyes and said "No. I'm not going to force Dipper into something he doesn't want to do. If I'm going to runaway with him, then _I'm_ going to be the one to convince him to do so. Years from now, I don't want to have to look back on our relationship and realize that it was so difficult, that I had to use magic just to make us work out. But I do need a wish to be granted."

"And what wish is that?"

"I wish to go back in time - right at the point where I was about to call Pacifica. But I want to have all the memories of everything that's happened here to still be there. Okay?"

"Okay."

"What? No! That's a stupid wish, Mabel! You could ask for so much more!"

"Is somebody trying to help me?" Mabel said, for the first time, ever since she was sent into this apartment, making an actual joke.

"Don't feel too good about yourself, kid! I'm just sick of being involved in all this drama - especially when you're only screwing yourself over. That's _my_ job. So how about you wish for something way better, like having the whole world just accept you and Dipper-"

"-Actually, I can't do that." Najila said. "Due to the barrier around the town - one you tried to break so long ago, Bill - my powers can't actually go outside of it. So if I were to make incest a 'none-taboo-thing', it would only be that way in Gravity Falls."

"Yeah, see. There we go. I mean, I hadn't even thought about that - but, hey, turns out _my_ method is the _best_ method." Mabel said, proudly, earning Bailey's grumbling.

"Are you ready to go?" The genie asked Mabel, earning a nod. Just before Najila could snap her fingers, Mabel's parting words were "You know, Bill, I'll kind of miss you". And then she was gone.

"I'll kinda miss you too, kid…" She murmured, feeling the emptiness of the apartment overcome her now that her most loathed enemy was finally gone.

* * *

Mabel, her eyes opening from one the most longest blinks known to man, found herself sitting on her bed, in her normal room, at early nightfall, with her phone to her ear. Her eyes were filled with tears, and yet she felt no actual sadness in her chest. It had worked. She was in the moment right before calling Pacifica, but she still remembered everything that had happened with the genie.

"Mabel? Hello? You there?" Said Pacifica through the phone.

"Pacifica?" Mabel croaked.

"Yeah, why did you call me, idiot?" She laughed.

"I...I…"

"Oh, Mabel. Mabel, Mabel, Mabel. Where did your mother and I go wrong?"

"Well, dropping me on my head as a baby may have done some damage."

The two laughed, having, as they usually would, done one of the most randomest interactions out there. And, because of it, Mabel felt an almost painful, bittersweet relief form in her gut over Pacifica's funniness. Despite Mabel having just seen possibly one of the worst sides of her oldest friend, she felt nothing but love for the girl who was jokingly scolding her at the moment.

"Hey, I just called to say...that I really love you, Pacifica."

"Are you coming out to me, right now?"

"No, seriously. I'm really glad you're my friend. I couldn't have ever asked for a better one. You've loved me regardless of all the weird and awful things about me. And that's just a priceless gift to be given."

There was silence on the other end for a bit, until Pacifica, bashfully and totally embarrassed, said "Gawd, Mabel, write me a love poem, why don't you?"

"Well, excuse me, I was trying to be sweet." She said, laughing over the thought of how red Pacifica's must've been at the moment."But, yeah, that's kinda it."

"Okay, I'll see ya tomorrow."

With a catch in her throat, Mabel felt a sadness well up inside her, before she simply said "Good bye, Pacifica."

After she put her phone back on the bedside table, Pacifica was left with a strange, gnawing suspicion in the back of her head. She sat up in her bed, wondering if she should ride down to the Mystery Shack right now. But realizing she had no good reason for it, she laid back down - thinking of all the things she was going to do with Mabel tomorrow.

* * *

In the pitch dark, Dipper stumbled, as quietly as he could, up the stairs, listening for any signs that his Grunkles had woken and were going to catch him sneaking in so late. However, his attention was drawn by the crack of light appearing beneath his closed bedroom door - and the shadows the moved around. Was Mabel up?

Quietly opening the door, he found his sister, sitting on her bed, holding her pet pig. She turned to him, and smiled calmly - as if she had been waiting for him. Dipper was surprised by this, as Mabel and he hadn't spoken a single word to him for the past two days. And yet, here she was - looking prepared to discuss Shakespeare with him.

"Hey, Mabel…" He said, cautiously.

"Hey, Dipster."

Shuffling a bit, he made his way to his bed, pulled off his jeans and jacket, before slipping under his bed covers. Laying on his back, he let out a long breath, trying to settle into his bed - but the feeling of Mabel's gaze prevented him from going to bed. He turned his head, and found her, sitting there, her eyes still on him.

"Mabel, are you okay?"

"Do you remember the first time we kissed?" She said, not even bothering to notice his question.

"Yeah." He answered, his stomach dropping slightly when he realized that there was no chance of him going to bed anytime soon.

"It was that time we were rowing boats, with Grunkle Stan and Ford."

"And we embarrassed ourselves in front of that restaurant." He said, actually smiling because of that humiliating moment.

"Psh, 'embarrassed' ourselves. More like…'not embarrassed' ourselves, am I right, ladies?" She said, awkwardly trailing off at her failed comeback, causing the twins to laugh.

"And the boat turned over."

"Yep, and when we pulled it on top of the muddy bank, we fell into the mud."

"And we couldn't stop laughing, or falling into the mud."

"Not until we were absolutely covered in it!"

"Yep. And then we watched the sunset."

"And then you kissed me."

Dipper's smile faded, as the memory came back to him. He could practically feel the dry mud cracking on his skin, as the setting sun caused a coolness to fall on the twins. But the most overpowering sensation was the absolute anxiety that filled him while he looked at his sister, who, beneath the orange colored sky, had tints of copper glistening in her hair. And when she turned to meet his gaze, the dying sun reflected in her eyes - and Dipper kissed her.

"And then I kissed you." He murmured.

"And I acted like it never happened. Not until four days later."

"On fourth of July…"

"Yeah. That was a good moment too."

In the cool night, with wet grass between his toes, Dipper felt a panic rise in him as a spark from one of the fireworks landed right onto Mabel's hand - burning her. She let out a shrill scream and, despite having avoided him for the past four days, ran straight into Dipper's arms. This time, when Mabel looked into her brother's eyes, she saw the bright explosions of fireworks reflect in his eyes. And, beneath the still moonlight, she felt a strange safety - one that wasn't confining or restricting. In an almost inaudible whisper, said "I love you". And, wordlessly, the two both knew that they weren't saying the kind of love that siblings say. It was the love that soldiers say before going off to war, that Romeo said to Juliet, that a bride says to the groom. It was the love that never dies, even when you really, really want it to.

"I got burned by that firework. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah. I do.."

"And I ran to you. What about that. You remember that?"

"I do."

"I said I loved you. And I did. And you loved me. You remember that?"

"I do."

"And I _still_ love you. I will always love you. As much as I don't want to, I will. Will you - _do you_ still love me?"

The room was silent, with Mabel's gaze still on her brother - who only looked up to the ceiling, while trying to slow his racing heart and his panicking mind. With a shaky exhale, he finally responded.

"I do."

Dipper hadn't even realized that Mabel had crawled out of her bed and was now standing by his side, until she climbed under his covers. Not opening his arms for her, but also not sending her out, he looked into her eyes, as warm and brown as they had always been, while she laid down beside him.

In a small, sweet whisper, Mabel said "Runaway with me, Dipper."

All romantic mood from before was then switched off, as Dipper sat up, asking her to clarify.

"I said 'runaway with me'."

"Mabel, realize how reckless this is. Please."

"Dipper, I've gone over it in my head a thousand times. I've thought of every situation, of every possibility. And let me tell you, my future is absolute _crap_ without you. And I know it's selfish, and I know it's wrong, and I know it's twisted, but, please, let's get outta here."

She was sitting up now, holding her hands, as if in prayer, up to her chin, begging him with those copper eyes of hers.

"You realize that we would be giving up all our friends and family?"

"Yes."

"No more Grunkles. No more Pacifica. No more Waddles. No more Gravity Falls."

"As much as I love all those things, I love you more."

"And you also realize that we would be pretty much penniless. And we would probably have to create whole new identities for ourselves, seeing as how our family would try to find us."

"Yep. And I'm completely willing to give up even my own name for you."

"Everything you've ever loved, and wanted to have, and planned will be gone if we were to do this. Are you really willing to give up your entire life for someone?"

"In a heartbeat."

In that moment, Dipper had never felt such an intense desire to kiss someone. But instead of ramming his lips into hers, holding her as tightly as he could, and covering her in kisses, Dipper did something that would prove his love far better than a thousand kisses ever would.

"Okay. Let's do it."

* * *

"It wasn't true. None of it was true. It was just some stupid rumor. A joke. A mistake. It just couldn't be true." Pacifica thought, as she frantically rode her bike to the Mystery Shack.

The shack's wooden roof peaked over the hill, and, as she neared, the three police cars before the building also came into view. Laying her bike on the ground, Pacifica paused - fearful that one of the police officers would shoo her away. Instead, they were all far too busy taking reports from a panic stricken Ford, who was giving detailed description of the Pine twins. Pacifica spotted Stan sitting on the porch step, looking completely shocked, and neared him.

"Is it true?" She said, breathless from her frantic ride.

"Yeah, he's true." He answered, not even looking up from the spot on the ground that he seemed to be fixated on.

Tears formed from Pacifica's eyes, and she placed a hand over her mouth, hiding a sob. She knew that there was something off about Mabel last night. She knew that she should've gone to the shack. But she didn't, and now her best friend was gone. Sitting down by the elderly man, she covered her eyes - letting the sobs come out freely now.

"They left a letter." Stan said, not looking at her as he handed it over. She took the folded up paper in her hands, and found it's inside to have the neat, pink colored handwriting of Mabel's.

" _Dear friends and family,_

 _We're sorry to do this on such short notice, but I promise that we're fine. We're sorry that this might cause so much pain, but this is something that we feel we have to do so that everyone can be happy. We love you all so, so, so much, and we'll miss you everyday for the rest of our lives._

 _Love,_

 _Dipper and Mabel Pines"_

"Not much of an explanation." Pacifica remarked, with an almost emotionless tone, but the crack of her voice suggested other wise.

"It's okay, Pacifica. I know you know the truth." Stan said, finally looking away from the floor and into her eyes.

"What truth?" She said, already fearing the possibility that she was going to be caught.

"I once saw your texts with Mabel about her and Dipper."

"Oh." Pacifica murmured, searching Grunkle Stan's eyes for any signs of disgust, or hatred, or disappointment. But, instead, she only found a sort of light heartedness in them. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Of course not. I've known about those two for a long, long time - and I've managed to keep mum about it all this time. So I expect you to do the same, even if the police ask you any questions. Alright?"

"Alright."

"Alright."

Pacifica smiled, slightly, at the crafty old man beside. Who'd have thought that this foul mouthed, greedy fool would end up earning Pacifica Northwest's respect?

"Do you think they'll ever come back?"

"Who knows. Anything can happen in Gravity Falls. All I know, for sure, is that, as long as they have each other, they'll be ok."

"Yeah. I think so too."

Pacifica didn't even say goodbye to the elderly man, as she knew that, even without Mabel being there, she would be sure to visit the Mystery Shack. Picking her bike off the ground, she gave on last, long look up at the eerie attic window. The bedroom, at that very moment, was most likely cold and empty, offering to be the holder of faded, far warmer memories. A drowning ache formed in her heart, and she could feel tears threatening to form in her eyes. But, despite knowing that the goofy laugh Mabel always had would never be heard again, Pacifica managed to form a small, bittersweet smile.

Gravity Falls would never be the same again without the Great Mystery Twins. Pacifica would be sure to tell every tourist, every questioning person, and every child she ever had of how they had managed to simultaneously cause chaos and save the town - all before, just suddenly, disappearing - like a single candle, in the pitch dark, going out with the wind.


	9. Epilogue

_This is the first fanfic that I've ever written and completed, and it feels really good to be able to write the ending. Hope you enjoyed reading! Please review, favorite, or follow!_

* * *

" _You're the only thing I want/And I said I wouldn't cry about it/This is the last time" (The National)_

* * *

A woman, just eighteen, boards a train, holding hands with another man. Her hair has been, quite poorly, chopped into a pixie cut and bleached blonde up to the roots, which still retain her once brunette hair. The man, whose face looks just like hers, has dyed his hair black - which doesn't correlate with the brown stubble on his chin. But porter carrying their duffle bags onto the train doesn't ask about their strange hair. He just asks for the tickets, which have the names "Donna Mabelton" and "Tyrone Dippingsauce".

"'Tyrone Dippingsauce'?" He asks.

"It's, uh, French." He says.

Quizzically looking up at the couple, who hold each other's hands with wide, anxious eyes, he finally shrugs and says "Whatever, man."

The couple, after letting out a sigh of relief, sit down, still holding each other's hands. The girl rests her head on her boyfriend's shoulder, kissing the knuckles of his hand before resting their intertwined arms down on their laps.

"Why did you want to move to Cinder Hills so bad, Dip - sorry, Ty?"

"Well, it's in Vermont - which is pretty isolated - and it's also known for it's strange phenomenon."

"Ooh. What kind of 'phenomenon'?"  
"Ghost sightings. Sasquatch footprints. Alien abductions. Even tales about the Jersey Devil."

"Sounds delightful."

With a jolt, the train then starts, taking the couple to their new, haunted home. At one point, during the long ride, the man, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and peering into her copper eyes, asks his girlfriend "I one time read this thing that Jean de la Fontaine said. Something like:'A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it'. Sounds kinda like us, right? Seeing as how me trying to leave you resulted in us doing...well, this."

"And who is this Jean de la whatever guy?"

"Jean de la Fontaine: a legendary fable writer and poet from 17th century France. Wrote 'The Lion and the Mouse'."

"Well, he sounds like a real poop head."

"What?!"

"Dipper - sorry - Tyrone, Destiny isn't something that's predetermined. 'It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves'. You know who said that?"

"Who?"  
"Shakespeare."

"Really?"  
"Yep. And, I mean, if destiny really did exist, do you think it intended for _us_ to actually fall in love - even as weird as it is?"

"No, I guess not."

"So I'm pretty sure that destiny won't give two cents on us leaving. Our even on what we do with the rest of our lives."

"Yeah. The rest of our lives."

"We've got the whole world at our fingertips, mi amigo."

"What a good feeling. Not just the freedom, though."

"Then what else?"  
He looked down, touching his nose against hers, and letting a small smile form on his lips.

"The love I have for you."

And, for the very first time, Dipper and Mabel Pines kissed each other, right on the lips, in public. And not a even a single person on that entire train cared.


End file.
